WATCH: Freshman QB D.J. Uiagalelei shines bright in comeback win for #1 ranked Clemson
Uiagalelei looked like a natural in place of normal starter Trevor Lawrence
Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott had just come back to the football facility from a haircut Thursday afternoon. He took time to peak into the quarterback room. Backup freshman quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei was watching film. Nothing new there.
“Then, coach walks in and drops the bomb,” Elliott said of Dabo Swinney. “Trevor’s out.”
The news that star quarterback Trevor Lawrence had tested positive for COVID-19 didn’t leak out of the building for about another seven hours. Once it did, the college football world once again turned upside down for the umpteenth time since the coronavirus shut down sports in March.
Inside that quarterback room, nothing changed.
“I was in the film room, chillin’,” said Uiagalelei, the freshman who would skyrocket from five-star backup to phenomenon on Saturday. “Coach Swinney walked in. His face was kind of like I was in trouble. I was like, ‘Dang, what did I do? Did I like a picture on Twitter I wasn’t supposed to like? Did I tweet something wrong? … Then he told me Trevor wasn’t playing.”
No problem for the kid they call “Big Cinco”. Big problem for those hoping there would be a hiccup a week before the Notre Dame game.
Swinney announced Saturday after a 34-28 win over Boston College that Lawrence will not be cleared for the showdown between the No. 1 Tigers and No. 4 Fighting Irish. But after watching a 19-year old start his first game and account for three touchdowns, it may not matter.
Clemson is set for next Saturday. Also for the next few years.
“Trevor Lawrence is going to be an incredible NFL player,” Boston College coach Jeff Hafley said in praising his team’s effort. “But Trevor’s probably not going to be here next year.”
Uiagalelei most assuredly will be — with a rocket arm, monster legs and conviction just this side of cockiness. Clemson won again on Saturday, but this particular ACC result was dripping with significance. First, it was close. That almost never happens with Clemson. The Eagles threw a scare into the Tigers on Halloween. It was more than that.
It was close because Uiagalelei and tailback Travis Etienne didn’t get together on a goal line hand off that resulted in a 97-yard return by BC for a touchdown. But it was also close because Uiagalelei and the Tigers then dug in and led a comeback from down 28-10 as Clemson’s defense held Boston College to a shutout in the second half.
The Tigers hadn’t been pushed this hard by an ACC opponent since early last season against North Carolina. They had not come back from a larger deficit in Death Valley since 1966. Their home winning streak (27) now is assured to span two presidential elections.
Source, https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/clemsons-latest-star-is-born-as-freshman-qb-d-j-uiagalelei-shines-bright-in-comeback-win/
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