True-freshman DJ Uiagalelei is the perfect blend of these three Clemson football greats
Clemson football fans will get to see true-freshman DJ Uiagalelei up close for a second-straight week when the Tigers take the field for a monumental matchup against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Uiagalelei, the former No. 1 QB in the nation, got his first start in a Clemson football uniform last weekend against the Boston College Eagles. He finished the day completing 73.1 percent of his passes for 342 yards and accounting for three touchdowns- two passing and one rushing.
As we continue to look at the future face of the Clemson football program, the truth of the matter is that he’s the perfect blend of three Tiger greats at the position.
Blend No. 1: Trevor Lawrence
Uiagalelei is a little quieter coming in, but there’s no doubting his talent. That’s exactly how Trevor Lawrence was to start off during his freshman season.
When looking at their games on the field, though, the main trait that Uiagalelei has similar to Trevor Lawrence is his arm talent.
When you’re talking about arm strength, the two are almost identical. As a matter of fact, Uiagalelei may actually have the stronger arm of the two. And that’s saying something.
Uiagalelei can make throws that no other quarterback in the country other than Lawrence can make, and he makes it look easy.
Blend No. 2: Tajh Boyd
Uiagalelei has a much stronger arm than Tajh Boyd and he’s much taller, however the two are still built with a similar frame.
The one thing that you could count on with Boyd was that he’d pick up a 3rd and short with his legs because he simply couldn’t be brought down. He was a tank.
Uiagalelei, at nearly 250 pounds, is the same exact way.
Both guys are extremely athletic and there’s no doubting that they could punish you with their strength, something that very few quarterbacks can do.
Blend No. 3: Deshaun Watson
Deshaun Watson and DJ Uiagalelei don’t necessarily have the same game in terms of on-the-field tendencies, at least for the most part.
Watson was a true dual-threat QB. Uiagalelei can do both, but it’s no question that his strengths are his incredible arm talent and ability to deliver shots to the defense in the running game, not necessarily running to get out in space as we saw Watson do.
These two are most similar, in my opinion, in their mentalities.
We haven’t gotten to see a lot of Uiagalelei, but it just seems that he has that winning mentality that made Watson so special. When Clemson got down against Boston College, he never flinched or lost his poise. He continued to play at a high level.
He likely had nerves to begin the game, but they didn’t show. We sometimes see Trevor Lawrence come out with butterflies and he’s ramping up his throws a little too much to begin the game. We didn’t see that from Uiagalelei.
He has this calm, confident demeanor that simply makes everyone around him better.
So, what we’re saying is that Uiagalelei has arm talent of Trevor Lawrence, the deep ball and tank build of Tajh Boyd and the winning mentality of Deshaun Watson. What a blend.