ESPN analyst calls Uiagalelei Clemson comments 'very valid' but advises him to move on

ESPN's Greg McElroy says DJ Uiagalelei had some "very valid" points regarding Clemson's offense in recent years, but he also didn't have some advantages past QBs had.

Brandon Rink - Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer - Wednesday, May 17 2023

ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy says DJ Uiagalelei should just move on from his Clemson days, but he added that Uiagalelei's comments on the program this offseason didn't come without merit.

Uiagalelei didn't hold back in his comparison of his last offense under former Clemson offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter and his new school with Oregon State in an interview with The Athletic last month ($).

"I didn’t want to do what I was doing at Clemson," Uiagalelei told the outlet. "I didn’t really like what we did there scheme-wise. I didn’t think we did very much. I thought it was very basic. It didn’t help me out as a quarterback and play to my strengths. I wanted to go somewhere that would play to my strengths and go somewhere that would develop me for the NFL. Play-action, work under center, throw the ball deep."

Uiagalelei also felt the Clemson coaches lost confidence in his play.

“You can feel that too as a player,” Uiagalelei said. “You know sometimes how they call plays; like calling plays scared, timid. Not opening it up 100 percent because they don’t trust the quarterback. I felt that definitely at times. For the quarterback that is tough, like, ‘Man, they don’t trust you.’ They’re saying, ‘Yeah, we trust you, but their actions don’t show it.’ And it’s not just me who sees it, all the other players see it as well. ‘Man, why aren’t we throwing the ball? It’s wide open.’ It was tough.”

McElroy says Uiagalelei's play shoulders some blame, but he also didn't have some of the advantages star QBs before him had at Clemson.

"Very, very valid (comments). And I don’t think you ever need to be in a position where you’re taking shots, or it gives off the impression that there’s bad blood,” said McElroy. “You’re never gonna win there. Because you could also look at it and say, well man, there were plenty of open receivers, and DJ Uiagalelei missed them. You watch the tape of DJ Uiagalelei in 2020 -- the two starts that he made in 2020, and then watch the tape from 2021...and most of 2022. The play was erratic in 2021 and 2022. There were some good moments. For instance, his performance against Wake Forest was really admirable...

“When you think about what they’ve had at receiver. Now these last couple years -- I’m optimistic about what Antonio Williams is going to be, but he was a true freshman last year. And tell me, think about the years, say (2010-2016) -- would any of the players that were on the roster in the last couple of years have been better than Sammy Watkins? Would any of the players that were on the roster the last couple of years have been better than Mike Williams? What about DeAndre Hopkins? What about Tee Higgins? What about Artavis Scott? What about Hunter Renfrow? You think about some of the guys that came through the program in the last handful of years and how super elite they were at wide receiver."

"Like I said, I love Antonio Williams. I’m very excited about his future, but he was kind of the only guy, and it was just last year. Whereas, every time Deshaun Watson stepped on the field, every time Trevor Lawrence stepped on the field, anytime any of quarterbacks in the last decade have stepped on the field, they had at least one, two, maybe three dynamic, difference-making wide receivers."

All that said, McElroy is looking for Uiagalelei to move on and focus on the next step in his career.

"So I think that some of the things that were said by DJ Uiagalelei were somewhat fair," McElroy said. "The supporting cast wasn’t what it necessarily was in the past. But also, at the same time, he left plays on the field. So, if I were him, I would move on; you have a fresh start. Don’t worry about what happened to Clemson. You have a fresh start at Oregon State, where you can work and focus and hone in on your craft...You don't have to be the hero at Oregon State.

"You just have to be the guy who distributes the football and makes great decisions, which should be a great situation for DJ Uiagalelei to regain who he was just a few years ago when everyone thought he was the Heisman frontrunner coming into the season in '21."