Tigers Still Need to 'Stress' Uiagalelei

Starting QB D.J. Uiagalelei was nearly flawless in his two starts as a true freshman, there is still a lot that the Tigers need to do to get him ready for a full season as the starter.

CLEMSON—Offensive coordinator Tony Elliott is tasked with a job that few would relish—replacing a generational talent at quarterback, a national champion, a three-time ACC champion and the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. The good news for him, he apparently has another ultra-talented signal-caller in D.J. Uiagalelei.

While meeting with the media Tuesday for the first time since the spring, Eliott said he is pleased with the work Uiagelelei has put in during the offseason to be the leader of the Tigers.

"It's been it's been good, you know, A lot of what they're doing now is player led, so we have to rely on the players to take ownership and take control because we're limited to access to them from the NCAA perspective," Elliott said. "And so it's all player led and it's in the weight room, and we get and we get updates and reports, but man, he's working his butt off. You know he's leading. He's doing everything that he needs to do. 

"And the biggest thing on our program too is, is we challenge these guys to understand that, it doesn't matter where you are on the depth chart you're preparing as if you're the starter, so it shouldn't be any, any, any different. Now the difference is, he's had a full year here. You know I'm saying so now the process may change a little bit because you're in year two, you know, so to speak. But in terms of your mindset and the way you approach it, it shouldn't change whether you're, you know a guy that's just getting here trying to move up the depth chart or veteran that may not be where you want to be, or you're the guy that's been a multiple-year starter."

Uiagelelei dazzled in two starts necessitated by Lawrence’s absence with COVID-19. The big-bodied Californian with an arm that Dabo Swinney once said “makes Trevor Lawrence look normal sometimes” not only put up prolific numbers (including 439 yards at Notre Dame, the most ever against the storied Irish program) but protected the ball exceptionally well, becoming only the second FBS player since 2000 to throw at least 115 passes and record at least five passing touchdowns with no interceptions.

But even though his two starts were impressive, there is still a lot of unknowns with the sophomore.

"You know, I think you draw some confidence knowing that he's been tested," Elliott said. "You know in that environment, because with all these guys you in the back of your mind, you're always like okay how are they going to perform when the lights, truly come on, because obviously practice is very intense, you know, but there's a different level of intensity when the games come, you know. There's a different level of distraction. Right, there's a lot more noise when the games actually come around.

"So you do have a comfort level, you know, and confidence saying okay, we anticipate based off of what we've seen, but we still have to press him, you know, and grind him and put him in as many strenuous situations so that when those situations arise in the game that he's prepared for that because the two games. You're not gonna, you're not going to see everything, you know that you're going to see. So you do have a little bit of confidence but at the same time too. You still have to make sure that you're stressing him and preparing him and not sitting back wrestling your laurels like okay we see what he can do."