Ad Disclosure
Dabo Swinney says Clemson backup QB suffered major injury in spring game
By Keith Farner
Published:
Clemson’s quarterback depth took a significant hit on Saturday when backup QB Taisun Phommachanh suffered a torn Achilles in the Orange and White spring game.
Phommachanh finished with 163 yards and a touchdown on a throw to Ajou Ajou before he left on a medical cart with an injury late in the scrimmage, Marc Whiteman of WYFF-4 reported. Clemson and Georgia are set to open the season on Sept. 4 in Charlotte.
“I hate to see that for him,” coach Dabo Swinney said, per Lou Bezjak of The State. “This is definitely a setback for him and our team, but everybody deals with setbacks and challenges. It is how you respond to this that determines your success.”
Asked if he could recall the last time Clemson’s QB depth was as thin as it currently is, Swinney says: “Yeah, when we won the National Championship. 2018. I think Hunter Renfrow was my third team quarterback.”
Phommachanh was listed on the depth chart behind starter DJ Uiagalele, who was entering his first season as a starter replacing Trevor Lawrence. Phommachanh was 14-of-25 passing.
Bezjak noted that with Phommachanh out, that leaves the Tigers with two quarterbacks on campus in Uiagalele and former Gray Collegiate standout Hunter Helms. Three more quarterbacks will arrive in June, including freshman signee Bubba Chandler.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
