Dabo Swinney shares hilarious story about watching D.J. Uiagalelei throw for the first time
By Mike Luciano
Dabo Swinney was immediately blown away with D.J. Uiagalelei’s arm talent.
For most programs, losing a Heisman Trophy favorite and expected No. 1 overall pick in Trevor Lawrence for a multi-game stretch would be a death sentence. Luckily for Clemson, they just happen to have arguably the best freshman quarterback in the country in D.J. Uiagalelei, who will give them more than a puncher’s chance against Ian Book and Notre Dame. Dabo Swinney clearly has enough confidence in his backup to turn him loose down the field, and that love affair has been pretty passionate for a long time.
Swinney has always been in awe of the 6-foot-4, 250-pound freshman’s exemplary arm talent and velocity, claiming that he was throwing so hard to some receivers at one of Swinney’s camps that he had to readjust the wide receiver line out of fear he was going to hurt someone.
Dabo said the first time he saw DJU throw was at camp with a lot of WRs there... some recruits, some that just wanted to go to Dabo camp. His thought: "I better readjust this wideout line here... somebody's gonna get hurt. He can't just be throwing to anybody."
— Matt Connolly (@MattConnollyOn3) November 3, 2020
D.J. Uiagalelei showed Clemson fans what the future looks like against Boston College
While it took a while to get into second gear against the Eagles, Uiagalelei looked every bit the much-hyped recruit Clemson fans were promised. In his first career start in college, Uiagalelei completed 30 of his 41 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns while adding 25 yards and a touchdown on the ground in a close 34-28 victory.
The Irish don’t have a truly elite defense at this juncture, but they are certainly a tier above Boston College. While Clemson has enough perimeter talent to give the Irish fits coupled with the always dominant Travis Etienne in the backfield, but Uiagalelei will need to be razor-sharp to take down one of the country’s best.
Win or lose, life after Lawrence is looking pretty nice for Clemson. Those in the ACC hoping for. Clemson regression after Lawrence goes pro will have to deal with Uiagalelei throwing smoke and running over would-be tacklers.
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