'Confidence' is King for DJ Uiagalelei
CLEMSON, S.C.—The Clemson Tigers have yet to fully hit their stride offensively in the 2022 season
However, if there is one player who is playing some of the best football of his Clemson career it is quarterback DJ Uiagalelei–at least according to his coaches.
"He finished well last year. He did some good things down the stretch last year," head coach Dabo Swinney said Sunday night. "He is making plays with his legs, too. Just confident. Good poise in the pocket. We had some good plays down the field, which is a part of our offense we struggled with last year. Nine of our last 11 drives from Georgia Tech (second half) to begin yesterday's game we scored, so that's a positive. I like what DJ is doing. Definitely super proud of D.J. in how he is competing and leading."
It is not only Swinney who has seen a different quarterback this season, but so has his position coach and offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter.
“Really I think the biggest word is confidence,” Streeter said. “I’ve seen guys go with not much confidence, and you can name a lot of things – accuracy, pocket presence is sloppy or whatever the case is – when they’re not confident about themselves or confident about making those plays. And whenever they gain that confidence, all of those things start coming back.”
In Saturday's win over the Furman Paladins, Uiagalelei completed 21-of-27 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns for a pass efficiency rating of 166.7. He also rushed five times for 36 yards.
Uiagalelei’s 166.7 passer rating was a career-high, surpassing his 164.7 rating at Notre Dame in 2020--a testament to his work put in over the offseason.
"Yeah, he's worked on that a lot. No. 1, giving the guy a chance to make a play. When we give a guy a chance, it could be a big play or PI," Streeter said. "We have worked on those throws a good bit, not overthrowing and putting more air under it. I believe he's getting better and better at it."
"Him moving around and being able to escape the pocket and move better than in the past. He's got a ton of confidence in that now. He made some unbelievable plays Saturday with his legs and also in the scrambling situations to Antonio, Beaux, and a couple other guys. You also saw him stand in the pocket and show his strength; he's a big kid that can hold up in the pocket where guys aren't able to make those arm tackles and he can step up and hang in there longer and make the play, to Beaux on two of those plays. Being able to extend plays is a big part of being able to play quarterback," added Streeter.
The No. 5 Tigers opened as a 32.5-point favorite with a point total of 54.5, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
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