D.J. Uiagalelei showed the heart of a champion and left it all on the field Saturday night during Clemson’s 30-24 victory over Louisville at Cardinal Stadium.
After coming out of the game in the second quarter with an injury, the sophomore quarterback returned on Clemson’s final possession of the first half and led the Tigers on a nine-play, 86-yard drive that he capped with an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Davis Allen to tie the score at 17 with 18 seconds left before halftime.
Later, Uiagalelei scored on an 8-yard touchdown run with 4:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, limping into the end zone to give Clemson (6-3, 5-2 ACC) its first lead of the game and score what proved to be the game-winning points against Louisville (4-5, 2-4).
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said during the ACC Network’s broadcast that Uiagalelei is believed to have suffered a non-surgical PCL sprain.
“He came back and just battled through,” Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said of Uiagalelei. “He just continues to get better managing the game. I thought he did some really good things. And then right there when we had to have it, he didn’t flinch. Even though he was limping into the end zone, he pulled it down and put the ball in the end zone on a quarterback run. So, really, really proud of him and just how he’s battled through everything that’s been placed in front of him.”
Uiagalelei finished 18-of-30 passing for a season-high 220 yards with two passing touchdowns and no interceptions for a season-high 143.6 pass efficiency rating. The rushing touchdown was his career-high-tying fourth of the season.
Uiagalelei’s 46-yard touchdown pass to his former high school teammate at St. John Bosco in California – freshman wide receiver Beaux Collins – on Clemson’s opening drive of the game marked the Tigers’ second-longest pass completion of the season and was Clemson’s longest passing touchdown of the year.
Including overcoming a fourth-quarter deficit against Florida State last week, Clemson has now won back-to-back games with fourth-quarter comebacks for the first time in the Swinney era.
“I’m tired of losing, man. I don’t like losing,” Uiagalelei said. “I feel like that’s the main thing. I feel like we’re super close to being able to be the offense that we want to be. We took a great step in the right direction tonight, and I just wanted to be out there and just be the best for my teammates.”
Asked how his knee is feeling, Uiagalelei was all smiles.
“I feel great, man,” he said. “Never better. Solid. I’m good to go.”
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