Jason Priester/All Clemson
Tempo, Run-Game Involvement Help Uiagalelei Gain Early Confidence
En Vogue sang "free your mind, the rest will follow" in a popular song from the early 1990s.
Those lyrics can apply to DJ Uiagalelei right now.
Clemson's starting quarterback faced what his head coach deemed a "do or die" game against Louisville last week, and thanks to less time thinking and more reacting, Uiagalelei put together a "solid" game and held on to his starting position.
Most importantly, he got Clemson to 9-1 (7-0) and an outright ACC Atlantic Division title with a 31-16 victory over the Cardinals.
"Like a lot of things, it's easier said than done. 'Just go play free, DJ. Don't worry about anything else and go play.' But when he can do that and he has that mindset, he's in a better spot," Clemson offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said. "He's able to go play free and confident."
"I think that's what you saw in him on Saturday."
Clemson made it a point to help put him in a better spot early in the game. The Tigers used tempo, calling plays quickly and lining up. And it allowed him to get into a better rhythm than the previous game at Notre Dame, where Clemson struggled offensively until the fourth quarter.
"It's just less thinking," Uiagalelei said. "It's going out there, reacting instead of just thinking the faster you have to play. I feel like when you're reacting, that's kind of all the preparation you put in through the week and you're just not thinking about stuff too much."
Uiagalelei said more tempo was a major emphasis in the Louisville game plan. So was running Uiagalelei early in the game.
"I definitely like getting involved in the run game early," Uiagalelei said. "It was cool for me to be able to get the juices out, kind of get everything going, kind of calm down. Getting hit kind of calms you down. It kind of eases you into the game a little bit. So it was good."
Uiagalelei ran four times on Clemson's first possession. He picked up two first downs and scored on an 11-yard run that put the Tigers up 7-0. He led the team down the field for a field goal in the third drive to go up 10-0.
It was an important start and set a tone. Even though the Tigers turned the ball over three times and made several other mistakes as a team, Uiagalelei finished 19-of-27 passing for 185 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 15 times for 32 yards and that score.
It wasn't perfect, but it was a positive sign for a quarterback in desperate need of one. Uiagalelei fumbled a ball that was picked up and run back for a touchdown against Syracuse on Oct. 22. Then he threw a pick-6 at Notre Dame.
Dabo Swinney couldn't allow those mistakes to hurt his football team again, and Swinney felt like Uiagalelei responded last Saturday against Louisville.
"It was good. There were certain things I wanted to do, certain things I want to do again," Uiagalelei said. "That's what I felt like I got out of it. So it was good to get those last two games out of the system and play solid coming into this week."
The Tigers host Miami (5-5, 3-3) on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Want to join in on the discussion? 100% FREE! Interact with fellow Tiger fans and hear directly from publisher Zach Lentz, deputy editor Brad Senkiw, recruiting analyst Jason Priester and staff writer Will Vandervort on any subject. Click here to become a member of the ALL CLEMSON message board community today!
Get your Tiger tickets from SI Tickets HERE
Do us a HUGE favor and like, subscribe and follow us on social media:
►LIKE us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allclemson
►SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/AllClemson
►FOLLOW All Clemson on Twitter:https://twitter.com/All_ClemsonMore on All Clemson: https://www.si.com/college/clemson/
