During his radio show Monday night, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney spoke plenty about DJ Uiagalelei and his expectations for the Tigers’ junior quarterback this season.
Swinney said he expects Uiagalelei “to be who he is and play like he played as a freshman” in 2020, when the former five-star prospect threw for 781 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in two starts against Boston College and Notre Dame.
“The biggest thing is he’s got to take care of the football, and I think every young quarterback or first-year starter, as I’ve said many times, they all make mistakes,” Swinney said. “But DJ’s mistakes were magnified because we had a lot of craziness going on around him – no continuity up front, guys getting hurt, young players at every position, freshmen backs, freshmen linemen, freshmen tight ends and first-year starters in the line. And then the biggest thing is we just couldn’t keep anybody healthy at receiver … But that’s just kind of where we were. I think when you’re a quarterback, sometimes you can, especially when it’s not going well and you have the criticism, you can try to do a little too much, and I think that was certainly the case with DJ.”
“But he’s just got to be who he is, really,” Swinney continued. “He doesn’t have to do anything superhuman or anything like that. This is a really, really talented, high-level player. We’ve got to be better around him, and he’s just got to play within himself and the system and just lead, man, take care of the football.”
In his first full season as Clemson’s starting quarterback in 2021, Uiagalelei experienced his share of struggles while completing only 55.6 percent of his passes with more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (nine).
But Swinney is pleased with how Uiagalelei closed out last season and helped the Tigers win games down the stretch.
“I think he’s in a great place mentally. I think he finished well, to be honest with you. Again, as bad as we were, we had a chance to win every game and didn’t get it done,” Swinney said. “But I like how he finished. I just felt like the latter part of the season, the last four games or so, he just kind of mentally got through. It wasn’t pretty, but we found a way to win some really difficult games, and I think he carried that momentum into the offseason and he’s just done a great job.
“So, he’s just got to go do what he’s done on the practice field. He’s got to do it on gameday, and we’ve seen him do it – certainly as a freshman – at a high level. Last year, way too inconsistent. But again, he’s going to get all the credit and all the blame, but that comes with the territory.”
Swinney went on to say that if Uiagalelei plays like he has practiced, then Clemson fans will love what they see from him this season, though Swinney indicated that the Tigers have more options this year should they need to make a change at quarterback.
“The good news is, is man, we’ve got a great quarterback room,” Swinney said. “So, he was our best option really through thick and thin last year, and I love how he competed and battled. This year, we’ve got several guys that I think can play and go win for us. But it’s going to all start with DJ because he’s earned it, and again, what he’s done on the practice field has been really good. Now he’s just got to do it under the lights.”
Time for Clemson fans to make sure the Tigers are competitive with South Carolina in NIL for baseball.
Come out to support Clemson baseball at Dear Old Clemson’s event on September 30 at the Madren Conference Center. New head coach Erik Bakich will speak and most of next year’s team will be on hand. Get your tickets today or sign up for the Orange level or higher of the Tiger Club to get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Dear Old Clemson.
