Mike Norvell breaks down play of DJ Uiagalelei

No. 4 Clemson will travel to Florida State this weekend for a showdown with the Seminoles that has proven tricky at times over the years. If FSU coach Mike Norvell and his Seminoles want to score an upset on Saturday they’ll need to get a good handle on Tigers quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.

Uiagalelei has been on another level in 2022, in part because he’s been a much bigger threat with his legs.

“I think that’s been one of the keys, he’s running with a lot more confidence than he had in past years, whether he was injured or whatever the case was a year ago,” Norvell said. “You see that confidence in him, and he’s had some explosive runs.”

The Clemson quarterback has already eclipsed his rushing total from a year ago on almost 40 fewer carries. So far this season he has run 67 times for 311 yards and three touchdowns.

One thing Norvell has noticed on film is that Clemson is setting him up a lot better within the offense. Florida State nearly got the better of Uiagalelei and Clemson last year in a 30-20 Tigers win that coach Dabo Swinney said made him want to vomit rewatching.

Of course, the Seminoles would like to follow through and win this time. That starts with stopping Uiagalelei.

“Oh, I mean he’s a big quarterback that can do a lot of different things,” Norvell said. “He’s physical. They use him in the run game. They do a good job schematically of how they try to create an extra hat.”

Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei playing with increased confidence

Though Norvell couldn’t pinpoint exactly what has made quarterback DJ Uiagalelei so much more effective this year, he knows how important slowing him down will be.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound quarterback is a handful.

“I know he lost some weight, but he’s still a big guy so he’s definitely tough to tackle,” Norvell said. “You’ve got to stop him before he gets started, but he’s a good player.

The Seminoles did a good job of that a year ago, limiting Uiagalelei to -9 yards rushing, while keeping him to just 189 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception. It will likely take a similar effort Saturday to come away with a key conference win.

Clemson and Florida State are slated for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff Saturday with a broadcast on ABC.