Trevor Lawrence is busy doing his own thing in the NFL, trying to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars as the face of the franchise.
But the rookie quarterback still takes time out on occasion to check up on his former teammate and successor as Clemson’s starting quarterback, D.J. Uiagalelei.
“I still hit him up every now and then and just check on him,” Lawrence told reporters this week. “I haven’t in a few weeks now. But me and coach (Brandon) Streeter, the quarterbacks coach, we talk a lot still. So, we kind of stay in touch. So, I check in and see how things are going.”
Last season, Uiagalelei excelled while filling in for Lawrence when he was sidelined by COVID-19. Uiagalelei led Clemson to the largest comeback in Memorial Stadium history in his first career start vs. Boston College on Oct. 31 and a week later, passed for 439 yards at Notre Dame – the most yards ever thrown against the Irish by an opposing quarterback. He finished his freshman campaign with 914 yards and five touchdowns against no interceptions across 10 games.
However, the transition from the Lawrence to the Uiagalelei era hasn’t gone as smoothly as Uiagalelei or Clemson fans would have hoped. Through the first five games this season, the sophomore signal-caller has completed 54.3 percent of his passes for 793 yards and has three touchdown passes with three interceptions for a Clemson team that sits at 3-2 (2-1 ACC) heading into Friday’s game at Syracuse.
Lawrence, though, still believes in Uiagalelei despite his struggles. And while the two haven’t had in-depth discussions, Lawrence has given Uiagalelei some advice as he navigates through the 2021 season.
“Really just I think everyone kind of goes through everything at their own pace, and you’ve just got to learn and grow, and he’ll do that,” Lawrence said. “I checked in on him after the Georgia game and then one of the other games, I forget. Just make sure he’s hanging in there. You’ve just got to stay the course. That’s the biggest thing. If you don’t quit, it’s all going to work out. So, he’s going to be fine. But yeah, we haven’t had at-length conversations, but I definitely have a lot of faith in him. He’s a great guy.”
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