Forget Outside Noise, Tigers Firmly In Corner of Starting QB DJ Uiagalelei

While tight end Davis Allen has no doubt seen a different DJ Uiagalelei throughout fall camp, the quarterback is still the same guy he's always been, and his Clemson teammates are firmly in his corner.

By all accounts, DJ Uiagalelei has been a different quarterback throughout fall camp.

After dropping close to 30 pounds over the offseason, there's no denying the junior signal caller has made a concerted effort to improve his mobility. However, there have been improvements in other aspects as well, and for tight end, Davis Allen, one of the biggest has come in the leadership department.

“He’s really become more vocal,” Allen said. “Everybody talks about his weight and all that crap, but the way he is and the way he acts around all the guys, skill and drills, weights and all of that, he’s trying to lead. And guys appreciate that because guys can see the effort he’s making in that aspect." 

"Everybody on this team respects DJ, especially on offense. Everybody respects DJ. Everybody loves DJ. So from that standpoint, he’s really tried to lead and be a good encourager.”

Over the offseason, Uiagalelei made it a point to meet with each position group at least once weekly. With the Tigers having a new offensive coordinator in Brandon Streeter, along with a new passing game coordinator and tight ends coach in Kyle Richardson, meeting with the group to break down the smallest of details could prove to be very beneficial. Plus, Uiagalelei wanted each player to have a better understanding of the quarterback's perspective.

“The tight ends, we’d meet one day during the week after our classes and all that," Allen said. "Then the next day, we were trying to meet with DJ. It was just (DJ) and the tight ends. Let’s try to figure this out. If we’re doing something new with the offense, we’re trying to learn it, go through it together and try to understand. He wanted us to know what his process is. We really broke down every little detail that we can because we learned last year that little details are huge."

However, while Uiagalelei may be more vocal than he was a season ago, he's still the same guy. A guy that has always had the respect of his teammates, on and off the field.

“People talk about what they want to talk about,” Allen said. “But I know from where I stand and from the guys on the offense stand and this team, nothing’s changed about DJ. DJ has been DJ this whole time. The respect for DJ has always been there. The love for DJ has always been there. We know what kind of worker he is. The outside noise is kind of just whatever, but from the inside, we’re all behind DJ."

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