When comparing last year’s depth chart heading into the 2019 season with what Clemson has this year, it’s easy to see there is not much of a drop off, or any at all, in terms of talent and potential production in 2020.

This fall, the Tigers return 11 combined starters on offense and defense, plus its starting kicker and punter from a year ago, along with plenty of talented and experienced depth. Again, they are in perfect position to win the ACC and contend for another berth in the College Football Playoff.

When looking at Clemson’s depth at quarterback, one might think the Tigers are not as in good of shape as they were last year. In 2019, they of course had Trevor Lawrence starting, while Chase Brice was his backup followed by freshman Taisun Phommachanh at third string.

Brice was what made Clemson’s unit so solid, given the fact he came off the bench for an injured Lawrence in the 2018 Syracuse game and led the Tigers back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit. The comeback was highlighted by his 20-yard pass to Tee Higgins on fourth down during the game-winning drive.

In the two seasons he lettered at Clemson, Brice played in 25 games and threw 136 career passes. He completed 82 of them for 1,023 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions. They were not numbers that were going to blow anyone away, but Brice provided a security blanket for Dabo Swinney and the coaching staff at the quarterback position.

However, their security blanket was ripped away following the national championship game when Brice announced he was leaving Clemson and transferring to Duke. Brice graduated in May from Clemson and will have two years to play for the Blue Devils starting this fall.

It is easy to think with Clemson losing a valuable commodity at quarterback, the Tigers depth at the position might slip a little. That has not happened. In fact, Athlon Magazine ranked Clemson’s quarterback room as the No. 1 QB unit in the nation in its preseason magazine.

Why?

It helps Clemson welcomed D.J. Uiagalelei, the nation’s No. 2 overall player and No. 1 quarterback by Rivals.com, in January. The freshman participated in the Tigers’ nine spring practice and was challenging Phommachanh for the backup position.

Uiagalelei comes to Clemson with credentials that were every bit as impressive as Lawrence’s when he enrolled at Clemson in 2018.

The 6-foot-5, 245-pound quarterback was the National Player of the Year and an All-American by USA TODAY. He threw for 10,496 yards in high school, including 127 touchdown passes to just 11 interceptions.

Uiagalelei averaged 18 yards per completion, while completing 66 percent of his passes. He also ran for 1,103 yards and scored 18 touchdowns. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry.

In last year’s state championship game, Uiagalelei completed 24-of-29 passes for 410 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing for 67 yards and another touchdown on five carries. He led St. John Bosco High School (Bellflower, Calif.) to a 13-1 record and a state title. In the state semifinals, they avenged their lone loss of the season by beating the nation’s top-ranked team Mater Dei.

Uiagalelei led his team back from a 28-5 deficit to beat Mater Dei. The Clemson quarterback threw for 446 yards and five touchdowns in the game, while completing 26-of-38 passes. He finished the 2019 season with 4,225 yards and 48 touchdowns against two interceptions.

“D.J. is, he is just an unbelievable talent. He is just unbelievable,” Swinney said. “To see a guy that big, he sometimes makes Trevor, and we all know what type of arm Trevor has, and sometimes he makes Trevor just kind of look normal with his ability to just rip that football.

“It is unbelievable. It really is, and then, oh by the way, he is 6-5, 245 pounds and can move.”

Clemson quarterback Taisun Phommachanh (7) during the Tigers’ spring practice Friday, February 28, 2020. (Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider)

Though a four-star prospect with a strong arm and ton of ability, Phommachanh was raw to say the very least last year, which is why he was redshirted.

“Taisun, he is one of those guys, that when he came in last year, I mean, he was overwhelmed,” Swinney said. “Day One, he was throwing dirt balls. You could just tell it was moving fast.”

However, Phommachanh worked hard to get better. He eventually played in three games last year before being declared as a redshirt, completing 6-of-12 passes for 56 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. He also ran the ball 12 times for 56 yards.

Now that Brice has moved on to Duke, Phommachanh knows there is an opportunity to put himself in position to be the Tigers’ backup quarterback behind Lawrence. He spent the nine days Clemson was able to practice this spring fighting off Uiagalelei.

“He has worked his tail off. He is very smooth and is very fluid,” Swinney said. “He is very knowledgeable. You can tell the game has slowed down. I thought he had a very excellent nine days.”

Swinney said Phommachanh is never going to look like Lawrence or Uiagalelei when throwing the football, but he does other things very well that show the coaching staff he is going to be a very good quarterback.

“He has a little bit of a different technique. But he is very accurate, and he has big-time arm strength and talent,” Swinney said. “He just looks different. He had a very good spring.”

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