Clemson’s starting quarterback, DJ Uiagalelei, has had a rough last few weeks. Between the unexpected loss at Notre Dame on Nov. 5 and freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik taking over in the third quarter of the game against Syracuse and leading the Tigers to victory, it is safe to say Uiagalelei feels the pressure to perform every single game.
He did that this past weekend against Louisville, throwing for 185 yards and one touchdown, and rushing for one as well in the Tigers’ 31-16 win. He had a completion percentage of 70.4, the highest it has been since the second game of the season against Furman (77.8).
His play was not perfect, but he got the job done, and he said he feels good moving forward and putting the last two games behind him.
“There are certain things I wanted to do, certain things I wanted to get out of the game, and I feel like that is what I got out of it,” Uiagalelei said. “It was good to be able to get those last two games out of my system and play a solid game coming into this week.”
Uiagalelei sat down with the media Monday ahead of the Miami game this weekend, detailing how he wants the offense to continue to play faster and more free.
“We definitely worked on it this week,” Uiagalelei said. “We want the offense to be able to play with more tempo, be able to play faster, and I feel like we did a good job this weekend playing faster.”
In regard to playing free, Uiagalelei stated how it helps his confidence improve throughout the game because he does not overthink every single play.
“I think it’s just less thinking, you just go out there and react instead of thinking,” he said. “The faster you play, the less you have to think, and it’s more just a reaction and just not thinking about stuff too much.”
Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter agreed with Uiagalelei, and liked seeing his confidence grow throughout the game against Louisville.
“We talk about that a lot, to find that peace of mind to go play free, and I think he’s done a really good job of that for most of the year, and like a lot of things it is easier said than done,” Streeter said on Monday. “When he can do that and has that mindset, he is in a much better spot when he’s able to go play free and play more confident.”
Streeter liked seeing the change in Uiagalelei this past weekend, but knows there is always room for improvement from the junior quarterback.
“Any time you can go play free and then you start fast, you gain confidence quickly, and I think that’s what you saw from him on Saturday — not perfect but he played a good game,” Streeter said. “He started fast, and I think it is our jobs as coaches to help him get to that point.”
