Clemson football's DJ Uiagalelei returns to Notre Dame, where he burned the Irish and expectations soared

CLEMSON – Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei returns this week to the place where he seized the college football world’s attention and raised expectations, perhaps unfairly, about what was to come.

Uiagalelei as a freshman made his second career start two years ago at Notre Dame, filling in for Trevor Lawrence, who had tested positive for COVID.

Uiagalelei passed for 439 yards, the most ever against the Fighting Irish in their storied history. The Tigers lost in two overtimes, but Uiagalelei was declared the next great Clemson quarterback. Lawrence would leave after that season for the NFL as the No. 1 draft pick and Uiagalelei would enter 2021 as a Heisman Trophy favorite.

Fifth-ranked Clemson (8-0), fourth on the College Football Playoff voting, plays at Notre Dame (5-3) on Saturday (7:30 p.m., NBC) in South Bend, Indiana.

“I’m excited, man,” Uiagalelei said. “Notre Dame is a great place to play. One of the richest histories in college football. … I think it's an amazing place, an amazing program.”

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The week before his national spotlight performance at Notre Dame, Uiagalelei had very little notice that he would start against Boston College because Lawrence had tested positive for COVID. Despite having no practice time with the first-team offense, Uiagalelei passed for 342 yards and engineered the Tigers' biggest comeback victory, from 18 points down, in Memorial Stadium history.

A game at Notre Dame, however, even with a sparse crowd because of COVID limitations, was a different story.

“That whole week went by pretty fast,” Uiagalelei said. “I remember getting to the hotel and the plane ride and stuff like that. But for the most part, the rest was a blur.”

Things didn’t go as planned from there, however. Uiagalelei as a sophomore struggled in 2021, despite leading Clemson to a 10-win season, with more interceptions than touchdowns. His Heisman hopes disappeared in the opening game against Georgia, an interception return being the only TD in a 10-3 loss to the eventual national champion.

By the end of last season, some Clemson fans were calling for Uiagalelei to be benched and were looking forward to highly touted incoming freshman Cade Klubnik taking over in 2022.

Was Uiagalelei's game at Notre Dame the beginning of too much pressure put on him?

“I don’t think so,” he said. “I expect that out of myself, to be able to play my best, every time I step on the field.”

Uiagalelei’s passing yards against Notre Dame broke the Clemson freshman record of 435 by current Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, a first-round draft pick, against North Carolina in 2014 and was the third-most in program history. Uiagalelei was 14 yards better than the previous record against the Irish set by Carson Palmer of Southern Cal in 2002.

So, naturally, Clemson fans figured Uiagalelei would continue to average about 390 yards per game.

“That’s pretty unrealistic, but yeah,” Clemson offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter said.

“When you play this game, there’s always going to be expectations. There’s always going to be things to work for and try to duplicate or do even better. But he can take that game two years ago and gain confidence from being in that environment as a freshman. In what he’s been through since for the last two years, I think he’s learned a lot. I think it gives him confidence going forward.”

Uiagalelei is coming off his only bad game of the 2022 season, a performance that got him replaced by Klubnik in a 27-21 win against Syracuse. That was just a slip on a steady climb, Streeter said. Uiagalelei has thrown for 1,803 yards with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions while being second on the team in rushing with 350 yards and four touchdowns.

“It’s all about a mindset and how you flush things,” Streeter said. “I’m just excited about how he has responded and how he will respond on Saturday. He’s got his confidence back. No doubt about it.”

Todd Shanesy covers Clemson athletics for the USA TODAY Network.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: DJ Uiagalelei back at Notre Dame, where hype began