Swinney on benching Uiagalelei: 'We just needed a change'

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. Anderson Independent Mail-USA TODAY NETWORK

Dabo Swinney on benching D.J. Uiagalelei: 'We just needed a change'

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 10/22/22

The Clemson Tigers switched quarterbacks during Saturday’s comeback win over Syracuse, sparking a quarterback controversy in the process. Coach Dabo Swinney seemingly tried to put an end to that controversy in his postgame interview.

Cade Klubnik replaced D.J. Uiagalelei during the third quarter of the game, with Klubnik giving the Tigers a spark and leading them to a comeback win. Despite this, Swinney was adamant after the game that Uiagalelei was still his quarterback, and likened his performance to Steph Curry having a bad game.

Dabo on benching DJ Uiagalelei: "Sometimes Steph Curry goes 2-for-25 … We just needed a change. DJ's our quarterback … you can write that right now, DJ's our guy. But how about Cade Klubnik coming in there and leading these guys?" pic.twitter.com/MRHlQJLiYP

— Marc Whiteman (@MarcWYFFNews4) October 22, 2022

“Sometimes Steph Curry goes 2-for-25,” Swinney told ESPN’s Molly McGrath. “Your best players sometimes can have a bad day, and he just got out of rhythm, made some bad plays. We just needed a change. D.J.’s our quarterback. There ain’t no question about that. That’s our guy, that’s our leader, you write that right now. He’s got to play better and he will.”

Whether you believe Swinney or not is a different question. It will not be easy to put Klubnik back on the bench after a performance that saw him spark a comeback victory, even if he only threw the ball four times. After all, this is not the first time Uiagalelei has struggled, and even Swinney left the door open to making a change earlier in the year.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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