As Clemson prepares for Notre Dame, quarterback DJ Uiagalelei spoke to the media on Monday, reflecting on why he struggled against Syracuse and what he needs to improve upon looking forward.
In the Week 8 victory over the Orange nine days ago, Uiagalelei had by far his worst game of the 2022 season. He had three turnovers in less than three quarters of play, including a pivotal fumble that gave Syracuse a 90-yard scoop and score. Uiagalelei’s struggles prompted head coach Dabo Swinney to make a change, replacing his starting signal-caller with freshman Cade Klubnik, who led the Tigers to a 17-point fourth quarter.
Heading into last week’s bye, Uiagalelei was happy to come away with a win, but after reviewing the film, he acknowledged what went wrong against Syracuse.
“The biggest thing was decision-making,” he said. “I feel like there were some decisions that I should’ve never made and put balls in jeopardy.”
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound quarterback added that he had a good week of practice last week and wants to lead the offense in attack mode the rest of the way.
“I feel like when I play my best is when I’m cutting it loose and not thinking about stuff, just going out there and reacting to what the defense is doing and not second guessing myself,” Uiagalelei said.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s road game against the Fighting Irish, the former five-star will look to bounce back in a similar fashion to his performance in 2020, when he started in place of Trevor Lawrence.
Although Clemson failed to leave South Bend, Ind., with a victory two years ago, Uiagalelei was a bright spot for the Tigers, throwing for 439 yards and two touchdowns.
Slated to kick off at 7:30 p.m. EDT, the matchup between the Tigers and the Fighting Irish will have plenty of eyes on it. Still, Uiagalelei is focusing on remaining steady.
“I’ve been playing football since I was five years old and playing tackle (football) since I was eight or nine, so you just can’t make it bigger than it is,” he said. “You just have to go out there and execute, have some fun and just go play football.”
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