Don't expect Uiagalelei to drive the Ferrari through the Bojangles drive-thru

Uiagalelei has slimmed down since the end of the season.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Mar 07 13:00:07 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Don’t expect the Ferrari to pull into a Bojangles or In-N-Out Burger drive-thru anytime soon.

Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei met with the media for the first time this spring following Friday’s practice, the second of the spring. It’s a big spring for the Clemson offense, which wasn’t very good last season, and Uiagalelei, who struggled during his first season as a starter.

Uiagalelei completed 208-of-374 passes for 2,246 yard with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions 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 rushed 105 times for 308 yards with four touchdowns.

He also battled injuries – a right knee that still requires a brace – and broke a finger on his throwing hand late in the season in the win over UConn. An inconsistent offensive line and injuries to a group of receivers that didn’t have a lot of experience all contributed to the season’s woes.

Uiagalelei was all smiles as he met with the media, however, and he thinks things are only going to get better.

"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."

Uiagalelei, who hails from California, admitted that he was too heavy once the season ended. He said he was as high as 260 pounds but now weighs in around 240 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."

He admitted the In-N-Out Burger, popular in California, and Bojangles are having to take a back seat to his healthy lifestyle. Bojangles is one of Uiagalelei’s sponsors.

"Bojangles, right now, I'm cutting it out, just for a little bit," Uiagalelei said. "In moderation, I'll eat it sometimes. I think the biggest thing for me, I have a big sweet tooth. So I like eating ice cream a lot. And I think that was one big thing I cut out eating all sweets.

"If I lose weight then I can be able to be a lot faster. I can be able to be more mobile. I didn't feel like affected me but I feel like it can make me that much more better."