Trevor Matich: 'D.J. Uiagalelei Wins the Heisman Trophy'
With spring practice still three weeks away, the high praise for the next starting quarterback at Clemson is already underway.
Trevor Lawrence's departure to the NFL means the D.J. Uiagalelei era has officially begun and to say the expectations are high, would be putting it mildly.
Uiagalelei has already been mentioned as a Heisman favorite for the 2021 season on multiple occasions and on Friday's edition of College Football Live, ESPN analyst Trevor Matich took that one step further.
“Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei wins the Heisman Trophy,” Matich said. “When Trevor Lawrence missed the Notre Dame game, Uiagalelei threw for over 400 yards against the Irish without enough experience to even know what opportunities he missed. His receivers will be better next year.”
The Tigers are no stranger to getting elite-level quarterback play. Having guys like Tajh Boyd and Deshaun Watson lead your program, only to then bring in players the likes of Lawrence and Uiagalelei has given the Clemson coaching staff a luxury that many other programs rarely experience.
"We're kind of spoiled here," offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said. "I can speak for myself and say I'm spoiled to have had Deshaun and then Trevor and to see how those guys responded as freshmen. I mean they didn't respond like typical freshmen and then you see D.J. coming along in those same footsteps."
"I mean he has that knack. I've described him and compared him to Deshaun with that quiet confidence. He never gets rattled. He's got the ice water in his veins. He's got a little bit of (Patrick) Mahomes in him because he can make a majority of the throws on his back foot. He can make them off-balance, he can change arm angles, and then he has the rifle-arm like Trevor."
Fans got a glimpse of exactly how good Uiagalelei can be last season when he was forced into action when Lawrence missed two games due to safety protocols. He led the Tigers to an 18-point comeback over Boston College in his first career start and then went on the road and threw for more than 400 yards in a 47-40 double-overtime loss to Notre Dame.
What Uiagalelei was able to show during his first season has head coach Dabo Swinney confident with what the Tigers have at quarterback as they begin preparing for the 2021 season.
“I mean, he's special, are you kidding me," Swinney said during the season. "You watch this guy play, he's going to be awesome. That was a big challenge for him (against Notre Dame) for sure, but he made some incredible plays. He never wavered, never flinched. Made some big, big throws. Couple of nice throws. I'm super proud of him. He's just going to get better.”
