Clemson football star D.J. Uiagalelei headlines PFF’s three breakout quarterback stars for 2021.
If the Clemson football team plans on winning a national championship this season, their new starting quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei has to play up to his lofty five-star potential.
PFF listed Uiagalelei as one of three potential breakout quarterback stars for 2021. The two others were Emory Jones of the Florida Gators and Taulia Tagovailoa of the Maryland Terrapins. While there are plenty of reasons to buy into the hype of these three signal-callers, here is why Uiagalelei should be the biggest breakout star of the trio: He can carry Clemson to a championship.
What should college football fans expect out of Jones, Tagovailoa and Uiagalelei this season?
Clemson football quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei projects as a 2021 breakout star
What Uiagalelei has going for him more than Jones and definitely more than Tagovailoa is a great chance to not only reach the College Football Playoff, but to win a national championship. He was the most sought-after recruit of the trio, as the five-star quarterback from California made his way to Clemson, South Carolina to back up Trevor Lawrence during his freshman season in 2020.
Uiagalelei made a pair of starts last year filling in for Lawrence, who battled COVID-19. While the Tigers defeated Boston College, they were unable to get it done up in South Bend vs. Notre Dame with Uiagalelei leading the way. To be fair, most quarterbacks were not winning on the road at Notre Dame Stadium last year. Had Lawrence been able to play though, Clemson could have won.
As far as Jones, his dual-threat playmaking ability could help the Gators transition quickly off more of the pro-style passer in Kyle Trask. Florida is expected to be down this year, but down for Florida means winning nine or 10 games and going to a New Year’s Six bowl. With Jones, it is all about getting as many reps as possible in Dan Mullen’s offense to be ready to contend again in 2022.
With Tagovailoa, he followed former Alabama offensive coordinator Mike Locksley to Maryland. While Locksley has done little more than lose a ton of games as a college head coach, he has shown a proclivity to recruit. Though last year was a weird one, Tagovailoa showed signs of great promise running the Maryland offense in Big Ten play. Maryland should be better than we expect.
Look for Jones, Tagovailoa and Uiagalelei to be some of the best quarterbacks in the country.
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