CLEMSON — Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney says his current relationship with DJ Uiagalelei is not much of a relationship at all, and it has nothing to do with who the former Clemson quarterback is playing with.

After leaving Clemson in December of 2022, Uiagalelei transferred to Oregon State for one season and last January transferred to Florida State.

“My current relationship is that you cannot have a current relationship, otherwise you would have tampering,” Swinney said during his weekly conference call with the media. “You cannot communicate with players at other places.”

Uiagalelei and the Seminoles host Swinney and the Tigers this coming Saturday (7 p.m./ESPN) at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. Uiagalelei’s matchup with his former team is one of the more anticipated games of the college football season, though there is a chance the Florida State quarterback could miss the game or not even start.

Uiagalelei was benched early in the fourth quarter after throwing an 82-yard interception return for a touchdown. This came after he injured a finger on his throwing hand in the third quarter.

At Clemson, Uiagalelei helped guide the Tigers to the 2022 ACC Championship. He went 22-6 as the starter at Clemson and had some memorable moments during his time wearing the Orange and White.

However, his time ended after a tough loss to South Carolina, where he played badly, and then a rough start to the ACC Championship Game, a game in which he was benched for Cade Klubnik.

Klubnik led Clemson to a 39-10 victory that night in Charlotte and earned the game’s MVP award. He has been the Tigers’ starting quarterback ever since.

Swinney, however, says he appreciates everything Uiagalelei did during his time at Clemson.

“The way our relationship ended here was great… I love that kid. I enjoyed him,” the Clemson head coach said. “He was 22-6 as a starter. I know we did not win them all, but two of those losses were on the road in double overtime and it could have gone either way. We had one pick-six, one play loss against Georgia and a one-point loss here at home (to South Carolina). So, he is four plays away from being 26-2, instead of 22-6.”

During his career at Clemson, Uiagalelei completed 515-of-861 passes for 5,681 yards with 36 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also recorded 275 career carries for 913 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground and caught one six-yard pass. He was also a two-time All-ACC Academic Team selection.

“He did a lot of great things for us,” Swinney said. “He is one of the best young kids that I have ever worked with. There was not ever a day that I did not enjoy being around DJ.

“As far as relationships you just can’t communicate, and that is one of the unfortunate things. It is what it is, you can’t communicate with players that are at other places because that opens you up for tampering. It will be good to see him. He is a Clemson graduate, and he gave everything he had for us. We won a lot of games here with him. I am always thankful for it.”