Following Clemson’s 35-12 win over Furman on Saturday at Death Valley, a few ACC analysts weighed in on what they saw from DJ Uiagalelei.
During “The ACC Huddle” on ACC Network, analysts Eric Mac Lain, EJ Manuel and Mark Richt gave their takeaways from Uiagalelei’s performance against the Paladins.
The junior quarterback threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s contest while completing 21 of 27 passes for a completion percentage of 77.8 percent — the highest completion percentage Uiagalelei has posted when attempting at least 25 passes.
“DJ was very efficient,” said Mac Lain, the former Clemson and All-ACC offensive lineman. “Very proud of what we saw from him, moving the ball, moving the pocket, being excellent out there. And that was one of the biggest things is OK, we’ve got to see him do better. Well, how can we see him do better? Move that pocket, show that he’s mobile and drop some dimes. … People have to help him. I thought last game (against Georgia Tech), there were some things that he could’ve done better. This game, it was on full display. It’s really been a two-year process. Those receivers, they’ve got to help him out down the field.”
Manuel, the former Florida State and NFL quarterback, agreed with Mac Lain about Uiagalelei needing more help from his receivers in order for the Tigers to accomplish what they want to as a team this season.
“DJ had a very clean day,” Manuel said. “He was accurate in the intermediate and the short throws. For the routine throws, make them look easy, and that’s what DJ did well (Saturday) – also functioning within the offense.
“At some point, he’s going to have to sit down with his receivers and not necessarily say hey man, you guys aren’t catching the ball, but say look, we both have to do our job if we want to go win a national championship. We’re not just talking about winning the ACC, but we’re trying to go further than that. So, you’ve got to have that accountability amongst yourself as a quarterback and the guys around you.”
On Saturday, Uiagalelei surpassed 210 passing yards for the second straight game, something he did only twice all of last season. His one real mistake came in the third quarter when he was intercepted, a tipped ball into a tight window that head coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said was a poor decision on the quarterback’s part.
In the season opener against Georgia Tech, Uiagalelei settled in after a slow start and ended up going 19-of-32 passing for 210 yards and a passing touchdown with a rushing score to boot.
Through two games this season, Uiagalelei has completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 441 yards and three touchdowns with one interception following a season in 2021 during which he completed just 55.6 percent of his passes – the second-lowest mark among ACC starters – with more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (nine).
“I think if (Saturday) was the first game of the year and we saw DJ do what he did, if he had done that last week, I think we all would’ve said he’s made improvements, he’s well on his way to doing what he needs to do to help them be champions,” said Richt, the former Miami and Georgia head coach. “But because the last week was a little shaky, this week was better. Hopefully it’ll continue.”
Mac Lain added that what Uiagalelei did against Furman was especially encouraging considering Clemson possessed the ball for just 25:15 of game time compared to the Paladins’ 34:45 time of possession.
“You see the 35 points, you’re like wow, this is really uninspired football. When you look at the play count and you look at the time of possession, they just didn’t have the ball a lot,” Mac Lain said. “And so what I think was also a positive about DJ is he didn’t get anxious, he didn’t feel like I’ve got to force it, I’ve got to force it. He stayed within the offense and was very efficient.”
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