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DJ Uiagalelei’s dad, Dave, is the latest to question Dabo Swinney following Clemson’s season opening loss to Duke. He says Swinney’s putting his own beliefs above the success of the team with his views of the transfer portal and NIL.
Uiagalelei joins a long line of critics as the college football world continues to pile onto the Tigers’ head coach.
On Labor Day, Clemson was blown out by the Blue Devis in prime time. The 28-7 defeat kicked the season off with a sour taste following an offseason of change in Death Valley.
Out were quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter. In were former five-star passer Cade Klubnik and trendy play caller Garrett Riley.
Unfortunately, the result didn’t look much different.
Before the game’s start, Dabo Swinney was asked about his new offensive coordinator’s game plan, to which he responded, “We’ll, it’s the Clemson offense… We hired Garrett to come in here and coordinate the Clemson offense.”
Tiger fans grew instantly tired of a side-to-side passing game they’d seen in past seasons as the offense neglected to push the ball down the field. Instead, they relied on the screen game and rushing attack, which Duke gladly welcomed.
While the Tigers were able to pile on yardage, rushing and passing for over 200 yards, the Blue Devils got tight in the red zone. Duke forced a pair of fumbles and a missed field goal down near the goal line, only adding to the frustrations of Clemson supporters.
After the game, Dabo’s stubbornness was to blame for the loss.
Members of the media immediately targeted his transfer portal approach after seeing a lack of play making ability at the skill positions. His apparent stronghold on the play calling didn’t help, either.
Dave Uiagalelei, father of Clemson transfer DJ Uiagalelei, added onto that criticism.
DJ Uiagalelei’s dad takes shot at Dabo Swinney.
On Wednesday, Uiagalelei posted a message regarding Swinney’s take on the transfer portal and NIL. The head coach’s stances on each have been widely publicized over the years.
He rarely opens Clemson’s doors to players in the portal, and his name, image, and likeness beliefs are apparently directly linked to his religion.
After seeing some of the recent opinion circling social media, Big Dave Uiagalelei responded with his viewpoint.
“I get it, YOU’RE against the portal, and you dislike NIL,” the tweet read. “But that’s you and how you feel. Your obligation is to the athletes and what best fits the success of the program!”
I get it, YOUR against the portal, and you dislike NIL. But that’s you and how you feel.
Your obligation is to the athletes and what best fits the success of the program‼️‼️‼️
— Big Dave Uiagalelei (@DUiagalelei) September 6, 2023
Essentially, he’s saying that the head coach is putting his own animosity towards the portal and NIL above the well-being of his players and team.
Dabo Swinney has always been one to stick to his guns. This time, it may be to the detriment of his program.
As for DJ Uiagalelei, he enjoyed success in his first game at Oregon State. The signal caller led the Beavers to a 42-17 win with his 5-TD performance.