Jordan McFadden on new offensive line coach Thomas Austin: We'll definitely be better because of him

Clemson‘s offensive line was not one of the team’s strengths last year, during a season plagued by injury. But Clemson offensive tackle Jordan McFadden believes the new addition of offensive line coach Thomas Austin will elevate the position group.

“I love Coach Austin. He is genuine and cares about us. He has played in the NFL and been where I want to go eventually. He has a ton of knowledge. He is not necessarily a big yeller or anything like that, but he gets his message across very well, and I’m super excited to play for him. It will be a lot of fun,” McFadden said.

Austin played o-line for the Tigers between 2006 and 2009, earning All-ACC and All-American honors during his career along with being a team captain in 2009. Austin also had a four year career in the NFL playing for Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, and Indianapolis Colts.

As a coach, Austin stated his career on the Clemson as a graduate assistant, spending four years on the support staff during the team’s run to three national championship games and two title wins. And as the offensive line coach at Georgia State in 2019-2020, helped propel the Panthers to the number 12 rushing offensive in the nation averaging 241.6 rushing yards per game.

With Clemson losing key interior lineman Hunter Rayburn to retirement after due to medical issues, and missing center Mason Trotter for a bulk of the season due to undisclosed reasons, Austin will definitely have his work cut off for him. Hopefully, he can rely on the leadership of McFadden, who PFF ranked as the highest rated returning offensive tackle in the ACC, and his own experience to better run the ball and protect quarterback DJ Uiagalelei in his second season as a stater.

“I think this offensive line will definitely be better because of him, so I’m super excited to play for Coach Austin. I think it will be a lot of fun,” Austin said.

DJ Uiagalelei discusses offseason weight loss, how tough it was to give up sweets

Last year, DJ Uiagalelei weighed in at 265 pounds for Clemson. But a year later, he’s down 20-25 pounds — and he’s already seeing a difference on the field.

Uiagalelei, now 235 pounds, talked about when he decided to shed some pounds after a rollercoaster sophomore season with the Tigers. Clemson went 10-3 last season and punched its ticket to the Cheez-It Bowl, where the Tigers defeated Iowa State. But Uiagalelei, who threw for nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2021, knew he needed to make some changes.

That’s why he set a goal for himself for the offseason: lose weight.

“It’s been huge, man,” Uiagalelei said at ACC Kickoff on Wednesday. “I’m dropping a lot of weight. It was one of my big goals this offseason. For me, I felt like after the Cheez-It Bowl, I weighed myself, and I said, I’m a little too heavy coming off of it.’ So I wanted to get some weight down and be able to come into this year in the best shape of my life, so I could put my best foot forward.”