Column: Uiagalelei’s Debut History as a Starter is Pretty Impressive
Come Saturday, quarterback DJ Uiagalelei will make his debut for a third university. Previously at Clemson and Oregon State, Uiagalelei will be behind center for Florida State as the Seminoles open the college football season in Dublin, Ireland against Georgia Tech.
It won’t be long before we see what the 6-foot-4, 250-pound native of California can do at his third program in as many years. If history is any indication, however, expectations should be pretty high.
In his first starts at both Clemson and Oregon State, Uiagalelei stole the show. A 5-star prospect and the No. 10 overall recruit for the 2020 class, according to the 247Sports Composite, Uiagalelei was first forced into action on Halloween 2020 for the injured Trevor Lawrence.
In his first career start at Boston College, Uiagalelei rallied Clemson from 18 points down for a 34-28 victory. The Tigers finished the game with 24 unanswered points. As for Uiagalelei, he finished the day 30-for-41 passing with 342 yards and two touchdown tosses to go with a 30-yard touchdown run.
Uiagalelei performed admirably again the following week as the Tigers dropped an overtime heartbreaker to Notre Dame. Lawrence would return from injury, but the future looked bright for Clemson.
Following a lackluster campaign by Clemson’s lofty standards in 2021 and a rough outing in a 31-30 rivalry loss to South Carolina to close the 2022 regular season, Uiagalelei was replaced by the younger Cade Klubnik for the ACC Championship. Relegated to mop-up duty in Charlotte, Uiagalelei watched mostly from the sidelines as the Tigers captured a seventh ACC title in eight years with Klubnik earning MVP honors for the contest — a 39-10 rout of North Carolina.
For the 2023 season, Uiagalelei headed west and closer to home at Oregon State. In his Beavers debut against San Jose State last season, the former 5-star quarterback did not disappoint.
In a 42-17 victory for Oregon State, Uiagalelei went 20-for-25 passing for 239 yards and five total touchdowns. The 2023 season for Uiagalelei would be his best statistically, setting new career-highs for passing yards and yards per attempt while ranking 12th nationally in QBR — one spot ahead of FSU’s Jordan Travis.
As Uiagalelei spends his final collegiate go-round in Tallahassee, fans in garnet and gold are hoping that the former rival has saved his best for last. As far as debuts go, however, FSU fans will hope Saturday’s contest against the Yellow Jackets — a program he’s 2-0 against as a starter — brings more of the same.
- Mike Ferguson is the lead writer for Double Fries No Slaw. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. For all of his work, “Like” or “Follow” Mike on Facebook.
