D.J. Uiagalelei was benched against Pitt after a disappointing 2021 season with Clemson football but Tony Elliott is more to blame than the quarterback.
Much like Spencer Rattler, Clemson football quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei came into the 2021 season with immense expectations. Taking over for Trevor Lawrence, he was expected to lead the Tigers into the next era of success. That, however, has not transpired.
And on Saturday against Pitt, Uiagaleleli was benched after an awful turnover, also joining Rattler. in that unfortunate light.
The performance against Pittsburgh wasn’t an isolated incident, though. Clemson’s offense has been stagnant all season with Uiagalelei not living up to his billing as the next star quarterback.
Part of that is definitely on the young quarterback, who has missed plenty of throws this season. However, the bulk of the blame doesn’t lie with Uiagalelei but, rather, offensive coordinator Tony Elliott.
Tony Elliott is the reason behind D.J. Uiagalelei struggling for Clemson football
Elliott has been a popular head coaching candidate thrown around over the years but has remained with Clemson throughout that time. And this season is perhaps a statement as to why that’s the case.
Clemson football and Elliott have been blessed with two generational quarterbacks, Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence, basically back-to-back prior to this season when Uiagalelei took over the starting job. The simple truth about players of that caliber, though, is that they’re able to overcome scheme and roster deficiencies purely because of their talent.
But with a young, inexperienced player like DJU taking over, even if he’s obviously talented, there comes a time when the offensive coordinator must earn his salary and put the quarterback in the best spots to succeed. Elliott has been an abject failure on that front.
There’s a reason that the Clemson offense hasn’t had almost anything working all season long, Uiagalelei at the forefront of that but also including a pedestrian rushing attack despite having quality options in the backfield. Elliott’s scheme has been mediocre in the kindest terms and he doesn’t have an all-world talent at quarterback to mask that now.
We don’t know yet what the future will hold for D.J. Uiagalelei. However, if he were to transfer, we would likely see a revitalized player simply because he’d likely join forces with an offensive coordinator who doesn’t require a generational talent to succeed.
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