This past weekend was certainly a good one for both DJ Uiagalelei and Trevor Lawrence.
After Uiagalelei completed 26-of-41 passes for a season-high 371 passing yards and a career-high five touchdown passes to lead Clemson to a 51-45, double-overtime win at Wake Forest on Saturday, Lawrence led the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 38-10 road win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, completing 28-of-39 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
Uiagalelei and Lawrence were teammates at Clemson in 2020 before Lawrence moved on to the NFL and was replaced by Uiagalelei as the Tigers’ starting quarterback last season.
Though the two are no longer playing together, they’re paying attention to how each other is doing and continue to stay in touch.
Lawrence reached out to Uiagalelei after Clemson’s win on Saturday, and Uiagalelei returned the favor with a message to Lawrence after Jacksonville’s win a day later.
“Trevor texted me after the game,” Uiagalelei said Monday. “He said he was proud of me. He said, ‘Great win.’ He said, ‘Just keep working, keep your head down. Don’t listen to too much success, don’t listen to the noise. Just keep working each and every week.’ And I texted him that he had a great game vs. the Chargers.”
“They looked great,” Uiagalelei added of Lawrence’s Jags, who improved to 2-1 on the season. “I’m excited to see the weapons he has. The offensive line’s playing great, the defense is playing great. I’m excited. The Jaguars are playing good, man.”
Uiagalelei’s struggles in his first full season as a starter a year ago have been well-documented, while Lawrence also endured his share of struggles as an NFL rookie in 2021. After being selected by the Jaguars with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, Lawrence threw five more interceptions (17) than touchdown passes (12) across 17 games.
However, Uiagalelei doesn’t think Lawrence played as poorly as those statistics suggest and believes he is primed to take off in his second year in the league.
“That’s a guy that’s had success his whole life, and with a tough season last year, I knew he would be able to bounce back with the team. And I thought he still played good last year,” Uiagalelei said.
“But I think this year, man, everything’s going to come to light and everyone’s going to see — just like how he killed it here, I think he’s going to kill it in the NFL and take the NFL by storm.”
Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.
Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!
