When ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit looks at the ACC’s Atlantic Division entering the 2022 season, he’s leaning toward Clemson as his pick to reclaim the division title, over NC State and last year’s Atlantic Division champion, Wake Forest.

But thinking about the Tigers, Herbstreit is concerned about the quarterback position coming off the 2021 season in which D.J. Uiagalelei completed just 55.6 percent of his passes with more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (9) in his first full season as the team’s starting signal-caller.

“I tend to think that Clemson, NC State and Wake are going to be… those teams I think are going to be in kind of a battle,” Herbstreit said on the Gramlich and Mac Lain podcast with Kelly Gramlich and Eric Mac Lain.

“I’ll be honest, I’m very nervous about the play of the quarterback position right now at Clemson. I think DJ has the goods. I think he’s a talented guy. But I think we just need to see a better job of what he can do more consistently. Watching him in the spring game, it was exciting to see that he has a chance. But I’ll lean towards Clemson, but I’m nervous about the quarterback play.”

Herbstreit added that he feels “it’s kind of an exciting time” for Clemson, considering the upcoming schedule and how he thinks the Tigers can’t simply be written in as the surefire ACC Champion and lock to make the College Football Playoff like in recent years under Trevor Lawrence.

“Usually you sit around in the summer and you’re like, ‘Who could Clemson lose to?’ and there’s one or two games, respectfully,” Herbstreit said. “This year — I’m not saying they’re going to lose them, I’m just saying, until you see them getting back to scoring 35, 40 points a game, you sit there and you’re like, ‘That could be a good game. That could be a good game.’

“So, it’s kind of an exciting time, I feel like, for Clemson. There for a while, it was just like, ‘Alright, they’re going to win the ACC…They’re in Charlotte, it’s just a matter of who they’re going to play,’ and they’re probably going to beat that opponent and just put them in the playoff. After Trevor (Lawrence) left, it’s been OK, let’s see how things are going. DJ could have a monster year and shut everybody up. Because we saw what he could do the year before.”

Regarding Uiagalelei, Herbstreit gave a few thoughts on what the rising junior needs to do in order to get back on track and be the type of player he was as a true freshman in 2020, when he threw for 781 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in two starts vs. Boston College and Notre Dame.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of his skillset,” Herbstreit said. “I think it’s just a matter of being more decisive and making good decisions and letting it rip. And when there’s an opening on third-and-4, take it. You’re a big guy — go. Don’t wait. (Don’t) hitch, hitch, hitch, sack. It’s more of hitch, go, and be a runner.”

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