What top recruit DJ Uiagalelei did to earn Clemson’s backup QB job
When Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott got into coaching 15 years ago, it was rare to have a freshman quarterback capable of coming in and earning immediate playing time.
That’s become the norm at Clemson in recent years, with D.J. Uiagalelei the latest highly-touted prospect to work his way onto the field the same year he arrived on campus.
The true freshman Uiagalelei beat out the redshirt freshman Taisun Phommachanh for Clemson’s backup quarterback job and made his college debut Saturday night at Wake Forest. Uiagalelei completed two of three passes for 16 yards and added one carry for seven yards in Clemson’s 37-13 victory.
“I thought that D.J. had a really good camp. He has really come into his own in terms of handling the offense, being able to handle all of the motions, all the shifts, all the different things that we do,” Elliott said. “He does a really good job of understanding what we want to get accomplished from a protection standpoint with our protection plan. Big arm talent, I think we all know that.”
Uiagalelei (pronounced ooh-ee-AHN-guh-luh-lay) arrived at Clemson with a solid foundation in place to learn the Tigers’ scheme and what all it takes to be a successful college quarterback.
The top-ranked pro-style QB for the class of 2020 did everything he needed to do during preseason camp to prove he was ready to follow in the footsteps of Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence and earn immediate playing time. Uiagalelei has been compared to Watson and Lawrence since arriving on campus, and the three are helping to change the expectations for quarterbacks coming out of high school.
“It started happening with Deshaun, it happened with Trevor. Now with D.J. ... Their depth of knowledge is way ahead of when I got into this business about 15 years ago,” Elliott said. “I think it’s just a credit to the high school coach, the trainers that they’re working with outside the game, but more importantly the young men just have that high football IQ.”
Lawrence and Watson earned the starting QB jobs before the end of their freshman seasons. While Uiagalelei isn’t likely to beat out the Heisman favorite Lawrence this year, Swinney does believe Uiagalelei has a chance to be special.
Swinney also believes Phommachanh has a bright future, despite him currently being third on the depth chart.
“Both of those guys are really good players. All three of those guys will play on Sunday one day. You can book that,” Swinney said. “I’m super proud of D.J. It’s not easy to come in here and pick up this offense the way he has. He’s got a great command and demeanor and poise and he went out and did some good things. That’s where we are right now and we’ll keep moving forward, but we’re going to need all three of them.”
While Uiagalelei got his feet wet, it was Lawrence who stole the show against the Demon Deacons.
The junior completed 22 of 28 passes for 351 yards, with a touchdown and no interceptions. He also rushed for a pair of scores before exiting the game late in the third quarter.
Before the game, Lawrence confirmed on ESPN’s College GameDay show that this will be his final season at Clemson. After the game, he said he loved what he saw from from the QBs who will be tasked with replacing him after this year in Uiagalelei and Phommachanh.
“I think those guys did a great job. They were prepared,” Lawrence said. “I know this week we’ve communicated really well. They’ve been super involved, so I know they are ready to play, so that makes me feel good. I think our room has done a really good job of handling adversity and focusing and locking in, especially for this game, after all the drama we’ve been through this offseason.”
This story was originally published September 13, 2020 at 10:37 AM.
