Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei Loves Running, Hates Sliding
DJ Uiagalelei has become a willing and effective runner of the football in 2022.
Clemson's starting quarterback has rushed for 337 yards and four touchdowns on 81 attempts through seven games. He's upped his yards per carry average from 2.9 last year to 4.2 this season.
"I love running the ball," Uiagalelei said Monday. "I've always liked it. I wish I ran more in high school, but I've always enjoyed it. For me, it's fun. It's another dimension the defense has to play. Quarterback runs are another thing to have to worry about and it opens up the running lanes for the running backs as well. So I enjoy pulling the football."
What Uiagalelei, who's also thrown for 1,665 passing yards and 17 touchdowns this season, doesn't like, though, is sliding to get down in an effort to avoid hits because he feels like it actually puts him more at risk for harm.
"I don't believe in sliding," Uiagalelei said. "Every time I feel like when the quarterback slides, he gets knocked out. I feel like it's just a free shot for the defense to go kill the quarterback. Yeah, you get a flag, but it's just like a free shot."
Uiagalelei, who was also a star baseball player at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif., said he wasn't good at sliding on the diamond, so he'd rather "maneuver away from the blow" on the football field or take a defender head-on than slide and take potentially a more devastating hit.
"I feel I can get down besides sliding," Uiagalelei said. "I feel like when you slide, you're like a defenseless player."
Uiagalelei addresses future
The junior quarterback in his second year as the starter said Monday that he hasn't thought much about what he'll do at the end of this season. Uiagalelei is eligible for the 2023 NFL Draft and came to Clemson with that in mind, but that's not his focus at this time.
“For me, I haven’t thought about anything," Uiagalelei said. "I’ve just been focused on the season. Right now I’m focused on Syracuse for this week. I haven’t thought about anything like that yet. I feel like that stuff will take care of itself, whatever happens. I’m just focused on this season, focused on the guys around me, focused on my offense, defense and the guys in the locker room and the coaches.”
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