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Dabo Swinney provides honest remarks about Clemson’s QB situation entering 2022
By Kate Norum
Published:
Clemson football and its quarterback situation have been a major talking point over the offseason.
Head coach Dabo Swinney, in an interview with the ACC Network, was asked where he sees quarterback DJ Uiagalelei coming into this season.
“He’s incredibly confident (and) he’s been through some battles. Last year was a rough year and he needs to play better, he knows that,” Swinney said. “We weren’t very good around him for a lot of reasons and I’ve never had a young quarterback — a first-year starter — who didn’t make mistakes, never. ”
"He is truly the unquestioned leader. He is unbelievably respected on this team."
Dabo Swinney on his QB, @DJUiagalelei ? @ClemsonFB pic.twitter.com/8EzAZ07RKT
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) August 18, 2022
Swinney went on to describe Uiagalelei, as being in a “peaceful place” as opposed to his first season as the Tigers’ starter in 2021. Last year, he completed 55.6% of his passes for 2,246 yards, including 9 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
The confidence on the field for Uiagalelei is one of the key areas that Swinney provided more insight into, adding in that mistakes are part of the game.
Not winning the ACC last season and not being in the College Football Playoff for the first time since the ’14-15 season will be used as fuel that feeds the fire to put more trust and energy into Uiagalelei.
Clemson will open up its season in conference action on Labor Day, Sept. 5, against Georgia Tech.
Kate Norum covers college football for Saturday Down South. She graduated from Kennesaw State University with a B.S. in journalism and has always been passionate about sports. Follow Kate on Twitter @katenorum
