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Greg McElroy compares Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei to former LSU star JaMarcus Russell
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Clemson star QB Trevor Lawrence missed last week’s game against Boston College due to a positive COVID-19 test. He’ll also miss this weekend’s game at Notre Dame.
Fortunately for the Tigers, 5-star freshman QB D.J. Uiagalelei looks like the next big thing. He threw for 342 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Eagles and added another score as a runner.
On “Get Up” on ESPN this week, analyst Greg McElroy made an interesting comparison for Uiagalelei, saying the Clemson freshman reminds him of former LSU QB JaMarcus Russell (via 247Sports):
“Uiagalelei is an excellent talent,” McElroy said. “He really has a remarkable arm. And people are like, ‘Who does he remind you of?’ He kind of reminds me of JaMarcus Russell. And people (will be like), ‘Wait, what? No, hang on a second.’ No, that’s a compliment. JaMarcus Russell in college was absolutely ridiculous, maybe the best thrower of the football I’ve ever seen.”
Obviously, people will remember Russell as a major NFL bust, but he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft for a reason.
Can Uiagalelei live up to that comparison in college? He’ll likely go back to being a backup after this week after Lawrence returns, but his future appears bright.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
