It is no secret that Clemson’s quarterback situation has been a big topic of discussion this preseason and following practice earlier this week, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter shared his excitement surrounding the vast improvement he’s seen from starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.
“Very very excited,” Streeter said. “He’s gotten so much more confident in running. Like we talked about before, just losing the weight and getting healthy with his knee, he’s just got a lot of confidence right now. Moving around, escaping the pocket, creating plays with his feet and that showed a lot on Saturday. Man, he did some really good stuff that I’m excited to see how he does this fall.”
Uiagalelei’s improved mobility and speed comes after the second-year starter dropped roughly 30 pounds this offseason. Along with his newfound speed, Streeter has noticed a rise in his quarterback’s confidence both in his own abilities and the offensive weapons that are in his backfield.
“I think he’s just gotten more confident,” Streeter said. “The other thing is when you have guys that are back healthy and you’ve got consistent, every day in and day out, you’re throwing to the same guys, that creates a lot of confidence right there. His accuracy’s been a lot better this fall, a lot better from even the spring and last fall, so just knowing who he has out there and they’re on the same page a lot more than they have been in the past.”
Sixth-year veteran Hunter Johnson echoed Streeter’s sentiments and understands the position that Uiagalelei is in. In fact, Johnson is all too familiar with the adversity Uiagalelei faced last season as he faced some adversity of his own both in his time at Clemson and Northwestern.
“DJ’s obviously a guy who’s been here for a while,” Johnson said. “He’s got the experience and the leadership, and the guys listen to him and trust him. I understand the position; it’s not always bright lights. Things don’t go perfect and that’s football. Just to see the mindset that he has and how well he carries himself and how confident he is. All those guys, they trust him, they listen to him on the field, and you can really tell that this is his team.”
With all the preseason hype surrounding what kind of quarterback we will see out of Uiagalelei this fall, all eyes will be on the California native when the Tigers take the field for the first time on September 5 in a highly televised contest against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Clemson opens up the 2022 season with the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. on Monday, September 5, with kickoff set for 8 p.m. on ESPN.
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