D.J. Uiagalelei's Plan to be 'Best in the Country' Begins Now
D.J. Uiagalelei will enter the 2021 season with the weight of monumental expectations on his shoulders.
Despite Trevor Lawrence having moved onto the NFL, Clemson is still expected to compete for a seventh straight appearance in the College Football Playoff and will enter the season as one of the favorites to win a national title.
Those are extremely high expectations of any player entering his first season as a starting quarterback. However, D.J. Uiagalelei isn't your normal quarterback and any outside expectations can not outweigh the expectations the rising sophomore has for himself.
“I want to be the best out there for my team," Uiagalelei said after Clemson's spring game. "I want to be the best in the country. I feel like I will go into this off-season and really work at everything, every single part of my game. Running, throwing, lifting weights, getting stronger and faster.”
In order to reach the lofty goals Uiagalelei has put in place for himself, he knows there is no room for complacency. The second-year quarterback said he will use the summer to work on improving in every facet of the game.
“I just want to continue to get better,” Uiagalelei said. “I want to get better in everything. There is just not one specific thing. I feel like there are a lot of areas I can get better at and as a competitor, you always want to get better at each and everything."
Head coach Dabo Swinney also talked about the offseason plan for Uiagalelei saying that self-evaluation will be important for the Tigers new starting quarterback.
"We're talking about trying to be elite, and helping him reach that," Swinney said. "He's a very good player but helping him become the best version of him. So, going back through all his mistakes, you know, really studying some of the situational stuff, really asserting himself as a leader."
In order to take the next step towards reaching the goals he has in place for himself, Uiagalelei is intent on doing whatever it takes. The quarterback said that it all starts in the weight room, as well as going back and evaluating each and every rep he took in the spring.
“Just have to get faster, stronger," Uiagalelei said. "Looking at all the plays from this spring and going back and looking at everything from the spring game. I am going to look at every rep and fine tune it. I am just going to really dive into it and make sure I am not missing anything.”
Commenting: To sign up for Discus our new commenting system, just use your Twitter, Facebook or email to register and you are in, very easy and quick to sign up! To find the find comment section just look below the Around the Web section below this article and get chatting! We would love to hear your thoughts and have you join our community!
