Uiagalelei 'Perfectly Fine' to Lead Clemson Against Iowa State in Cheez-It Bowl

ORLANDO, FL- DJ Uiagalelei has faced one obstacle after another during his first season as the full-time starting quarterback at Clemson.

One of those obstacles has been the fact that Uiagalelei has dealt with multiple injuries throughout the 2021 season. The sophomore quarterback is completing just 56% of his passes with as many interceptions (9) as touchdowns (9) as No. 19 Clemson gets set to face Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl on Wednesday.

The sophomore quarterback is currently dealing with a sprained PCL in his left knee and injured ligaments in the index finger on his throwing hand. Although listening to Uiagalelei, you'd never know he was sporting a big, bulky brace on that knee everywhere he goes.

"I feel like right now I'm healthy," Uiagalelei said on Sunday. "But, yeah, of course, I won't be like completely healthy, but I'll be perfectly fine to go out and play a game to my full abilities."

New offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter has also noticed a difference in his starting quarterback since the Tigers began bowl preparations.

"You can definitely tell by coming back out here for practice, for bowl prep, that he's taking care of his body and he's feeling better, and he's feeling more confident," Streeter said last Saturday.

While Uiagalelei may be healthy enough to go out and lead the Clemson offense one more time this season, the quarterback also acknowledged that it might be well into the offseason before he is once again fully healthy. For right now, he is just focused on one final game. A game in which he maintains he is perfectly fine to play in.

"Eventually in the off-season, I'll get more healthier and get 100 percent," Uiagalelei said. "But right now I feel perfectly fine."

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