DJ Uiagalelei's confidence is growing, Shipley vows to follow his QB to 'promised land'

DJ Uiagalelei had some fun Saturday in Death Valley, including with a TD to his former HS teammate Beaux Collins.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Sep 11 07:00:04 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON, S.C. — DJ Uiagalelei is taking his own advice in limiting the outside noise, and his confidence is growing with each game.

Uiagalelei completed a career-high 78 percent of his passes and led the Tigers on scoring drives in five of their first six drives in a 35-12 victory over in-state foe Furman on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. In his postgame interview with the media outside of the Clemson locker room, he described what he called a “solid” performance.

"I feel like today I played with a lot of confidence," Uiagalelei told reporters. "A lot of plays, I was just out there feeling it, extending plays in my legs, making plays, throwing with confidence. I feel real confident. Coming to the game, just lean on the preparation I put in all week, all summer. I felt like I was just ready to go, so I felt really prepared today."

Prior to the start of the season, Uiagalelei presented each of his teammates with a note and the branded logo of Beats by Dre on it and wireless studio headphones from the company.

"A gift for the journey ahead when you need to block out the noise and channel your inner DJ - DJ," said the note.

Running back Will Shipley said Uiagalelei is taking his own advice and blocking out all of the talk about a quarterback controversy. He also says the offense wants to follow DJ to the “promised land.”

“It's the epitome of who DJ is. He gets a huge deal with Beats (by Dre) - one of the most widely recognized brands across the United States, maybe even bigger than that - and the first thing he thinks about is his teammates,” Shipleys said. “That's what DJ is all about. To be out there with and to play with him, I'm so excited about what he's going to do for us this season.

“There's a lot of that noise. It's funny. I love both guys and they're both great, but I think DJ went out there and silenced some of those critics today. I think he showed that he's the guy right now. I know everybody is going to rally around him and we're going follow five to the promised land. That's something I've been saying since last year. We're following him to the promised land.”

Against the Paladins, Uiagalelei was 21-of-27 passing for 231 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The interception came on a ball that he rifled to slot receiver Brannon Spector that was tipped.

"That was on me,' Uiagalelei said. "Spec did the right thing. It was just a bad ball, a bad decision on me."

Other than that interception, Uiagalelei said he had fun.

"I felt more in control of the game," Uiagalelei said. "I felt comfortable back there. I think that's the biggest thing. I felt like I was just playing out there, just having fun, feeling comfortable throwing the rock. I got into a rhythm and just kept rolling."

Maybe his best pass of the day was a floater to Beaux Collins in the corner of the endzone.

“I was kind of just trying to throw it away, but trying to give him a chance at the same time," Uiagalelei said. "He made a heck of a grab and it turned into six (points)."

He also showed more confidence in the running game, carrying it five times for 36 yards.

"I thought I ran the ball a lot better today. Whenever I had a chance to scramble to make plays, that's one thing I wish I had back in the first game. I tried to work on that this week, just making more plays with my legs and staying up on my feet. I think I did a better job of that. I did a better job stepping up in the pocket with pressure around me."

Backup Cade Klubnik took the field for the Tigers’ fourth possession and Clemson had to punt after one first down.

“Really this week was just one of those one-week deals where it’s, ‘Hey, let’s get Cade in there in the first half,” offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said. “I think from here on out, we’ll kind of evaluate how we’re playing, see where we’re at and kind of go from there.”

Streeter said Uiagalelei showed poise in the pocket.

“His pocket presence, to me, was unbelievable tonight,” Streeter said. “He made some plays in the pocket where he was maneuvering in the pocket and just finding that little soft spot, which is what we work on a good bit a lot. I know that was a big goal for him this week, too. Whenever he is in the pocket and is balanced, I’m telling you, he’s as accurate as they come. He threw the ball really, really well tonight and gave our guys a chance.”