CBS Sports recently published a list of seven college football quarterback battles to follow during 2022 spring practice.

The first school highlighted on the list is Clemson and the QB competition between rising junior D.J. Uiagalelei and five-star freshman Cade Klubnik.

“One of the biggest storylines in all of college football in 2022 is whether Clemson can reclaim its position as a title contender after failing to win the ACC and reach the College Football Playoff for the first time in seven years,” CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson wrote. “Getting back to the top starts with solidifying the quarterback position after Uiagalelei threw more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (nine) and finished last in the ACC in passer rating among eligible quarterbacks as a sophomore. The drop-off of the Clemson passing attack was a stunner considering not only the raw talent at wide receiver, but the fact that Uiagalelei had starred in relief of Trevor Lawrence in two starts the year prior.”

Following his stellar freshman debut in 2020 when he threw for 781 yards and four touchdowns with no picks in two starts vs. Boston College and Notre Dame, while rushing for two more scores in those contests, Uiagalelei completed 55.6 percent of his passes for 2,246 yards and nine touchdowns with 10 interceptions in 13 starts last season.

Klubnik, who enrolled early at Clemson in January, completed 71.3 percent of his passes for 3,251 yards and 43 touchdowns against just three interceptions as a senior at Westlake High School (Austin, Texas) in 2021, despite missing three games with an injury. He also rushed 70 times for 465 yards and 12 scores.

The nation’s top-ranked QB in the 2022 class completed 70 percent of his career passes for 7,426 yards and 86 touchdowns vs. just seven interceptions, adding 197 carries for 1,319 rushing yards (6.7 avg.) and 31 touchdowns.

“Uiagalelei has welcomed the challenge from Klubnik, an early enrollee who was the top-rated quarterback in the 2022 class,” Patterson wrote. “The freshman brings the kind of pedigree that projects to high-level success, having been the first Texas high school quarterback to go undefeated while winning back-to-back 6A state tiles since Kyler Murray. Adding to the intrigue is the departure of offensive coordinator Tony Elliott and the promotion of quarterbacks Brandon Streeter as part of a reshuffling that could add new ideas not just to the quarterback position, but the offense as a whole.”

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