Clemson QB’s football career could be over before it even started

It looks like the Clemson Tigers will be losing quarterback Bubba Chandler to baseball after he was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft.

Bubba Chandler signed with the Clemson Tigers, but he may not be playing football for much longer. In addition to being a very talented three-star quarterback prospect for the Clemson Tigers, Chandler was also a remarkable high school baseball player.

And as it turns out, Chandler now has the opportunity to move on to play professional baseball after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Chandler was selected on the second day of the 2021 MLB Draft when the Pirates chose him in the third round with the 72nd overall pick. Unsurprisingly, he’s now representing his new MLB organization in his Twitter bio with no mention of being a Clemson student or football player.

But while losing someone as talented as Chandler would be devastating for many teams, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney probably isn’t losing much sleep over this.

https://twitter.com/Bubbachandler_/status/1414655218919301122?s=20

Losing Bubba Chandler may not be a huge setback for Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers

It’s clear that Chandler is talented, but losing him won’t be the end of the world for the Clemson Tigers. 247Sports rated the Bogart, Georgia native as a four-star quarterback, but Swinney and his team don’t have too much to worry about. In fact, Clemson is celebrating the accomplishment.

https://twitter.com/ClemsonFB/status/1415032684817100801

The Tigers will be turning their offense over to sophomore star quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. At 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, Uiagalelei is more physically imposing than many other quarterbacks out there and he certainly was difficult for opposing teams to stop as a freshman.

Uiagalelei played in nine games during the 2020 season, including a pair of starts when Trevor Lawrence was out with COVID. The former five-star recruit showed plenty of potential. Throughout the year, Uiagalelei threw for 914 yards and five touchdowns against zero interceptions while completing 66.7 percent of his passes.

Beyond Uiagalelei, Clemson has a commitment from the nation’s No. 6 quarterback recruit Cade Klubnik and they are in a recruiting battle for Arch Manning, the No. 1 quarterback in the 2023 recruiting class.

So, while it might sting a little bit to lose someone as talented as Chandler, the Clemson Tigers will be more than okay if he goes on to pursue a professional baseball career.

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