Clemson football: PFF analysts predict D.J. Uiagalelei as Heisman Trophy winner

The Clemson football program has never had a Heisman Trophy winner, but analysts over at Pro Football Focus think that’s all about to change.

D.J. Uiagalelei, who is set to take over as the new face of the Clemson football program, has been predicted to win the 2021 Heisman Trophy be two different Pro Football Focus analysts.

The organization published its picks for the Heisman Trophy this upcoming season earlier this week and two analysts- Mike Renner and Austin Gayle- had Uiagalelei as the ultimate winner.

Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler and Miami’s D’Eriq King were also chosen by one analyst apiece.

Clemson football has a major chance to make history with D.J. Uiagalelei at the helm

There are many Clemson fans who have given up on the Tigers ever winning a Heisman Trophy, and for good reason.

The award is largely a popularity contest and many Tiger fans grew sour on the ‘prestige’ when they saw Deshaun Watson finish as a semifinalist twice, but never win it- especially during that 2016 season. Following up Watson, Trevor Lawrence was a finalist for the Heisman but didn’t come out victorious either.

Now, many wonder: Why would D.J. Uiagalelei be any different?

There are two main reasons in which we think Uiagalelei might have a greater shot than his two predecessors at actually bringing home the hardware and it mainly has to do with the offensive attack that we’re going to see Clemson run with him at the helm.

More so than with what we saw with Watson or Lawrence, the Tigers are going to be a pass-first offense this year.

Uiagalelei’s skill set lends itself to an ‘air-raid’ style of offense and the everchanging landscape of College Football has shown us that the most elite offensive attacks are those that can get the job done through the air.

Don’t be surprised if we see Uiagalelei average close to 40 passing attempts even in blowouts during this season. Many of those RPOs that we saw called with Lawrence and Watson that turned into running plays are going to be passing plays with Uiagalelei at the helm.

If he does get close to that number of attempts, we could be looking at a season where he throws for more than 4,000 yards and that’s going to stand out to Heisman voters.

We’re not saying it’s a ‘done deal’ by any means, but there are some factors working in Uiagalelei’s favor that could result in him bringing home the award before it’s all said and done.