NCAA
Clemson Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei Has a Neat Twitter Strategy for Staying Humble
John Moriello started covering sports in 1982, began digital publishing in 1995, and joined Sportscasting in 2020. A graduate of St. John Fisher University, he finds inspiration in the underdogs and the fascinating stories sports can tell (both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat). John expertly covers all aspects of NASCAR. Beginning with his 2014 coverage at Fox Sports of the aftermath of the dirt-race tragedy in which Kevin Ward Jr. died after being struck by a car driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, John has excelled as a journalist who specializes in the motorsports world. He previously spent more than three decades covering high school sports and worked as a beat writer covering Big East football and basketball, but NASCAR is now where the true expertise falls. John is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame (2013), the President of the New York State Sportswriters Association, and a two-time Best of Gannett winner for print and online collaborations whose work has appeared on FoxSports.com and MaxPreps.com.
Get to know John Moriello betterPublished03 Nov 2020
Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei has the most difficult job in sports this week. That is, if you don’t count the lawyer handling the appeal of Chicago Bears receiver Javon Wims’ suspension.
With leading Heisman Trophy candidate Trevor Lawrence sidelined by COVID-19, Uiagalelei has to lead the top-ranked Tigers into South Bend, Indiana, on Saturday night to play No. 4 Notre Dame.
D.J. Uiagalelei is off to a great start
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It was a nail-biter for much longer than Clemson fans anticipated, but D.J. Uiagalelei ultimately won his debut as a starting quarterback last week. Uiagalelei went 30 of 41 for 342 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers rallied past Boston College, 34-28, to maintain their No. 1 ranking.
Uiagalelei also rushed for a touchdown in place of junior Trevor Lawrence, who has thrown 83 touchdown passes and just 14 interceptions in 36 career games. Lawrence had to watch from his apartment as Clemson rallied from 18 points down in the first half.
Uiagalelei was one of the country’s most coveted QB prospects last year at John Bosco High in Bellflower, California. His career stat line at Clemson before the Boston College game was 12 completions in 19 attempts for 102 yards.
Next weekend, he’s the starting quarterback again for Clemson, this time against No. 4 Notre Dame in South Bend in the biggest game of the college football season while Lawrence continues his quarantine and cardiac testing protocol.
Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei has a neat strategy for staying humble
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Legendary UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden had a number of famous sayings. One of them was: “Talent is God given, be humble; fame is man-given, be thankful; conceit is self-given, be careful.”
In Wooden’s days, newspaper columnists and the announcers on the occasional televised game were the biggest threats when it came to pumping up an athlete’s ego. Nowadays, it’s all about social media. Facebook and Twitter share clips of great plays moments after they happen.
The old and new forms of media sometimes converge, as was the case two days after the Clemson win over Boston College when CBS Sports college football analyst Dennis Dodd beat everyone to the hype punch.
“D.J. Uiagalelei is going to be better than Trevor Lawrence,” Dodd said in a clip shared on Twitter.
That’s got to be heady stuff for Uiagalelei. Fortunately, the freshman with 32,000 (and growing) Twitter followers blocks out gratuitous adulation. And that begins with blocking his own father on Twitter, something he started doing as a high school sophomore.
It seems dad posts too many glowing reviews of his son’s exploits on the football field.
“Sometimes, he can be over the top,” Uiagalelei said, according to TigerNet.com. “He likes the media. He likes the spotlight. I’m more like my mom. I like to be low-key.”
The start of something big at Clemson
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D.J. Uiagalelei was looking at video breakdowns two days before the Boston College game when head coach Dabo Swinney walked in. Ordinarily, Trevor Lawrence would have been there, too. However, the Heisman Trophy favorite was in quarantine awaiting confirmation that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
“I was in the film room, chillin’,” Uiagalelei told CBS Sports. “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.”
Less than 48 hours later, Uiagalelei was beating Boston College.
“Trevor Lawrence is going to be an incredible NFL player,” BC coach Jeff Hafley said. “But Trevor’s probably not going to be here next year.”
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