DJ Uiagalelei looks to help define Clemson's 2022 season

DJ Uiagalelei looks to return to his 2020 form.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Jul 08 08:00:05 GMT-04:00 2022

The best-case scenario for both DJ Uiagalelei and Clemson football in 2022 is if the rising junior signal-caller has a stellar season and allows freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik to grow without the pressure of starting. But will that happen?

Uiagalelei started last season as a Heisman candidate but finished the season with 10 interceptions against just nine touchdowns and Clemson finished a meager 95th in points scored per drive.

Uiagalelei enters 2022 having completed 286-of-491 passes for 3,160 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 1,097 snaps over 23 games (15 starts). Last season, he completed 208-of-374 passes for 2,246 yard with nine touchdowns over 862 snaps in 13 games (all starts), finishing the season as one of only four offensive or defensive players to start every game for Clemson. He also finished 2021 credited with 133 carries for 368 yards and eight rushing touchdowns.

The offense struggled with injuries at the running back, tight end, wide receiver and offensive line spots, and the opener against Georgia appeared to bite into Uiagalelei’s confidence. The coaches and players all said the right things over the spring, but there were still accuracy issues during the spring game and some of the numbers from the spring scrimmages were less than promising.

However, he has been working with private coaches and with his wide receivers, and the Clemson coaches have bragged on his work ethic and head coach Dabo Swinney said Uiagalelei enters fall camp as the unquestioned starter.

“He’s had a great spring,” Swinney said of Uiagalelei. “He’s not done anything to not be the starter. Cade is a really talented player. We’ve got two guys that I think can win at a high level just like when Trevor (Lawrence) and DJ were coming out of the spring (in 2020). It’s not often that you can say that, but I’ve seen enough from both of those guys to know that. DJ had a good spring and did what he needed to do to give himself some momentum going into summer.”

Uiagalelei never complained even though he had to play through several nagging injuries, but he said he is all healed and ready to roll in August.

"Injuries are good, yeah," Uiagalelei said. "Knee's getting better, knee's getting 100%. Finger's getting 100%... everything's been going good. I feel like my confidence is at an all-time high. I feel like it's at the same spot it has been my whole career. I'm just ready to come out here, just compete and continue to get better each and every day. Just take it one day at a time, one rep at a time."

He also admitted that he was too heavy once the season ended. He said he was as high as 260 pounds but now weighed in around 240 in the spring and is looking to be around 235 pounds when the season starts.

"When I went back home, I was eating a lot, like a good bit," he said. "I was like, dang, I gotta lose some weight. That was one of my main things, I just wanted to get a little lighter. Just on my knees and stuff like that. I just wanted to lose weight, but I probably lost right now about 20-25 pounds."

He said he had many reasons for wanting to lose the weight and even took a cue from Tom Brady’s TB12 diet which is a high protein, plant-based diet that excludes gluten, dairy, corn, soy, MSG, coffee, alcohol, GMOs, sugar, trans fats, overly processed foods, and more.

That made him want to treat his body like a Ferrari.

"Like longevity wise, career-wise," Uiagalelei said. "Like you kind of see like the TB12 diet and stuff like that, where your body's like a temple. So like you want to be able to like to treat your body like a Ferrari. I stopped putting fast food in myself, like stopped eating fast food. Like try and treat it like a high engine car, like high fancy cars, kind of just like get stuck on your body. And that's what I've been doing. Working out twice a day, eating right, and been on the meal plan."

If the Tigers hope to reach the heights they envision, it would be beneficial for everyone if Uiagalelei has a bounce-back season and allows Klubnik time to settle in. There are three very winnable games to start the season – Georgia Tech, Furman, and Louisiana Tech – and for the coaches to decide what will be the best route heading back into ACC play.