CLEMSON -- Late in the game against Georgia Tech, DJ Uiagalelei threw a perfect opposite-hash throw to Beaux Collins that Collins could not bring in.
A timeout was called, and Dabo Swinney immediately took off his headsets and turned to Uiagalelei.
"Hey 5!" he yelled. "Great freaking throw baby!"
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Uiagalelei seemed to be taking some of the blame for the incompletion. Swinney quickly told him that it was all on Collins, that the throw was exactly what Swinney and everyone else wanted to see.
That sequence pretty well sums up the first 120 minutes of football in 2022 for Clemson.
Uiagalelei has been really good, showing an unmistakable upward trajectory from last season and more of the type of play we saw from him in two emergency starts as a freshman.
It's the guys around him -- receivers, offensive line, even the defense -- that have taken turns not holding up their ends of the deal.
But just as Swinney did in the aftermath of the aforementioned incomplete pass, it's important to recognize the progress even amid the frustrating gaffes elsewhere.
The story on Uiagalelei's third season at Clemson is still being written. But his body of work through two games has administered a chill pill to those who were so eager to move on from him.
Amid some balky moments early against Georgia Tech, the cameras flashed to a Clemson fan in the stands who yelled: "Get him out!"
Even after that game -- after Uiagalelei had made the biggest plays of the game on offense and shown exceptional touch on some of his throws -- came the "Big Stinko" barb from angry, anonymous keyboard thumbs.
Even when he was introduced as the starter against Furman, there was a smattering of boos mixed in with the cheers at Death Valley.
Tough crowd.
"I don't think I've ever been more proud of a guy," Swinney said yesterday. "Ain't nobody been more under the fire than him. Two games don't make a season, but it's good to see him go do it. He's playing really well, and I'm really proud of him.
"Lot of toughness. Lot of toughness. You want to play quarterback at Clemson, there's a lot that comes with it. Good and bad."
