Uiagalelei's Pocket Presence 'Unbelievable' In Tigers' Win Over Furman
CLEMSON, S.C.- Through the first two games of the season, DJ Uiagalelei is starting to play to the level that is generally expected of a former 5-star quarterback.
Uiagalelei came to Clemson as arguably the top-rated quarterback in the 2020 recruiting class. He appeared in 10 games as a freshman, including two spot starts in place of an unavailable Trevor Lawrence, completing 67% of his passes, with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Expectations soared.
However, during his first season as the full-time starter last year, Uiagalelei was a model of inconsistency. Battling multiple injuries, he completed just 59% of his passes and finished the season as one of the worst-rated passers in the ACC.
Entering this season, there were questions galore regarding which Uiagalelei would take the field, and through two games, the junior quarterback has responded. After a slow start in the opener against Georgia Tech, Uiagalelei rebounded to have a solid second half.
On Saturday, in the Tigers' 35-12 win over Furman, Uiagalelei was extremely sharp, completing 78% of his passes, while leading the offense on touchdown drives in each of his first five possessions, and offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter is noticing a different level of confidence in his starting quarterback.
"Man he got better," Streeter said. "I can tell his confidence was sky high. And that's the biggest thing with the quarterback position is, you know, just having that confidence. And man he played well. He made some big plays, he created plays. He was very accurate, missed maybe one or two throws."
The work Uiagalelei has put in since the end of last season has been well documented, and it is becoming evident that the effort is starting to pay off. Uiagalelei was efficient and precise, doing most of his damage from inside of the pocket.
"His pocket presence, looked to me, was unbelievable tonight," Streeter said. "I mean, he made some plays in the pocket where he was maneuvering in the pocket and just finding that little soft spot which is what we work on a good bit a lot and I know that was a big goal for him this week too. And then whenever he is in the pocket and he is balanced, I'm telling you he's as accurate as they come. He threw the ball really, really well tonight."
Outside of one interception, that Streeter described as a "bad decision," Uiagalelei appeared to be in complete command of the offense, something Clemson's offensive coordinator said goes back to that newfound confidence that his quarterback is displaying on the field.
"A lot more confidence, absolutely," Streeter said. "It shows. I mean, it showed last week. Still made some mistakes last week. Of course, he made mistakes. But this week, it looked like he was even better and even more locked in confidence-wise. The sky's the limit for that kid. And just super proud of him. Pushing through the adversity and just continuing to work. Never compromising his work habits."
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