DJ Uiagalelei
David John Uiagalelei[1] (/uːiːˌɑːŋɡələˈleɪ/ oo-ee-AHNG-guh-luh-LAY; born April 17, 2001[2]) is an American football quarterback for the Oregon State Beavers. He previously played for the Clemson Tigers before entering the transfer portal in 2022, where he would transfer to Oregon State. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers of the MLB in the 20th round of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.[3]
.jpg.webp) Uiaglelei with the Clemson Tigers | |
| Oregon State Beavers – No. 5 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class | Junior |
| Major | Communications |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | April 17, 2001 Riverside, California |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 252 lb (114 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| Bowl games | |
| High school | St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| |
Early life and high school career
Uiagalelei, who is of Samoan descent,[4][5] attended St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California.[6][7] As a junior in 2018, he was the USA Today High School Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for 3,366 yards and 48 touchdowns.[8] As a senior, he passed for 4,225 yards and 48 touchdowns.[9] Uiagalelei also played baseball in high school.[10]
A five-star recruit, Uiagalelei committed to Clemson University to play college football on May 5, 2019. He signed with them on December 18, 2019, and enrolled at Clemson on January 8, 2020.[11][12]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DJ Uiagalelei QB |
Bellflower, California | St. John Bosco High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | May 5, 2019 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
| ||||||
College career
Freshman year
Uiagalelei started his first game for Clemson on October 31, 2020, against the Boston College Eagles. He replaced Trevor Lawrence, who was ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19.[13] Uiagalelei completed 31 passes on 40 attempts for 342 yards and 2 touchdowns in leading Clemson to a comeback victory after being down by 18 points in the first half.[14] He started a second game in place of Lawrence the following week on November 7, 2020, against undefeated Notre Dame—Clemson lost to the Irish in an overtime thriller, 47-40 despite another impressive performance by Uiagalelei, who completed 29 of 44 passes for 439 yards and 2 touchdowns.[15][16]
Sophomore year
After Trevor Lawrence left for the NFL, Uiagalelei became Clemson's starting quarterback. He came into the season with much hype. The Tigers were ranked #3 in the nation in the preseason poll. He signed a deal with Dr. Pepper and Bojangles (restaurant) to appear in their commercials throughout the season. Clemson's first challenge of the season would come against the #5 Georgia Bulldogs. However, Uiagalelei played poorly, going 19-for-37 on pass attempts, threw for 178 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. The game's only touchdown came from a pick six thrown by Uiagalelei. Clemson ultimately lost, 10-3.
Junior year
After being benched in favor of Cade Klubnik during the ACC Championship, Uiagalelei announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on December 4, 2022.[17][18]
On December 24, 2022, Uiagalelei announced that he would be transferring to Oregon State University.[19] On August 22, 2023, Oregon State named Uiagalelei the starting quarterback over Ben Gulbranson and Aidan Chiles.[20]
Statistics
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | ||
| Clemson Tigers | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 10 | 2 | 1−1 | 78 | 117 | 66.7 | 914 | 7.8 | 5 | 0 | 146.4 | 28 | 60 | 2.1 | 4 | |
| 2021 | 13 | 13 | 10−3 | 208 | 374 | 55.6 | 2,246 | 6.0 | 9 | 10 | 108.7 | 105 | 308 | 2.9 | 4 | |
| 2022 | 13 | 13 | 11−2 | 229 | 369 | 62.1 | 2,521 | 6.8 | 22 | 7 | 135.5 | 142 | 545 | 3.8 | 7 | |
| Oregon State Beavers | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 6 | 6 | 5−1 | 92 | 152 | 60.5 | 1,307 | 8.6 | 13 | 4 | 155.7 | 33 | 131 | 4.0 | 5 | |
| Career[21][22] | 42 | 34 | 27−7 | 607 | 1,013 | 59.9 | 6,988 | 6.9 | 49 | 21 | 129.7 | 308 | 1,044 | 3.4 | 20 | |
Personal life
Uiagalelei is a Christian.[23] He attended regular Bible study while at Clemson and wears wristbands with Bible verses on them including Jeremiah 33:3, Philippians 4:13, Ephesians 6:10, and Romans 12:2.[24][25]
References
- Dellenger, Ross (May 3, 2019). "DJ Uiagalelei, 2020's No. 1 QB, has a supersized future". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
- Fleming, Thomas (January 21, 2015). "2020 QB DJ Uiagalelei: Next Up..." Football Hotbed. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- Chavkin, Daniel (July 11, 2023). "Dodgers Take Flier on College Football Standout in MLB Draft". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- "Meet DJ Uiagalelei, American sports' next superstar". NZ Herald. May 4, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- Huffman, Brandon. "Polynesian Bowl announces DJ Uiagalelei as first 2020 selection". 247Sports. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- Grosbard, Adam (October 10, 2018). "How D.J. Uiagalelei's year away from quarterback prepared him to lead St. John Bosco football". Press Telegram. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- Dellenger, Ross (May 3, 2019). "DJ Uiagalelei, 2020's No. 1 QB, has a supersized future". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- Newman, Logan (December 18, 2018). "ALL-USA Offensive Player of the Year: DJ Uiagalelei, St. John Bosco". USA TODAY High School Sports. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- Morales, Robert (December 20, 2019). "2019 Football Dream Team Player of the Year: DJ Uiagalelei of St. John Bosco was at his best during winning time". Press Telegram. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- Thamel, Pete (July 12, 2019). "Big Ben or Mariano? No. 1 QB recruit hopes to juggle sports at Clemson". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- VanHaaren, Tom (May 5, 2019). "Clemson lands top-50 QB prospect Uiagalelei". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- VanHaaren, Tom (May 6, 2019). "Clemson's new recruit D.J. Uiagalelei is the country's most patient quarterback". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- Hale, David M. (October 29, 2020) (October 30, 2020). "Trevor Lawrence positive for COVID-19, will miss Boston College-Clemson". ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Adelson, Andrea (October 31, 2020) (October 31, 2020). "Freshman quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei rallies Clemson Tigers past Boston College". ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Priester, JP (November 8, 2020) (November 8, 2020). "Uiagalelei Felt Like He Could Have Done More in Loss to Notre Dame". SI. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - "Game Summary Box Score (November 7, 2020)". ESPN. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- "DJ Uiagalelei to enter transfer portal: Clemson's two-year starter, former No. 1 QB recruit seeks fresh start". www.cbssports.com. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- "Sources: Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei expected to enter the transfer portal". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- "Ex-Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei Announced Transfer to Oregon State". si.com. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- "Oregon State names Clemson transfer DJ Uiagalelei starting QB, source says". espn.com. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- "D.J. Uiagalelei 2022 Game Log".
- "Clemson Tigers Football Roster – DJ Uiagalelei". Clemson Tigers Official Athletics Site. December 18, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- Doering, Joshua (May 6, 2019). "Top QB prospect D.J. Uiagalelei cites faith as main reason for committing to Clemson". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
- Crumpton, Tony (November 3, 2020). "D.J. Uiagalelei reveals the Bible verses on his wristbands that inspire him". Retrieved September 29, 2022.
- Cubit, Alexis (January 19, 2022). "How Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei found faith, and the role it played in the 2021 season". Retrieved September 29, 2022.
External links
