David John "DJ" Uiagalelei ( ; born April 17, 2001) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
for the
Oregon State Beavers
The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for ...
. He previously played for the
Clemson Tigers
The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) s ...
before entering the transfer portal in 2022.
Early life and high school career
Uiagalelei, who is of
Samoan descent, attended
St. John Bosco High School in
Bellflower, California
Bellflower is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 79,190, up ...
. As a junior in 2018, he was the ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' High School Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for 3,366 yards and 48 touchdowns. As a senior, he passed for 4,225 yards and 48 touchdowns. Uiagalelei also played baseball in high school.
A five-star recruit, Uiagalelei committed to
Clemson University
Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...
to play college football on May 5, 2019. He signed with them on December 18, 2019, and enrolled at Clemson on January 8, 2020.
College career
Freshman year
Uiagalelei started his first game for Clemson on October 31, 2020, against the
Boston College Eagles
The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...
. He replaced
Trevor Lawrence, who was ruled out after testing positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
. 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. 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
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
in an overtime thriller, 47-40 despite another impressive performance by Uiagalelei, who completed 29 of 44 passes for 439 yards and 2 touchdowns.
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
Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Europe ...
and
Bojangles (restaurant)
Bojangles OpCo, LLC., doing business as Bojangles (known as Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits until 2020), is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants that specializes in cajun-seasoned fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits that ...
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
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
, Uiagalelei announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on December 4, 2022.
Statistics
Personal life
Uiagalelei is a
Christian. He attends a regular Bible study at Clemson and wears wristbands with Bible verses on them including
Jeremiah 33:3,
Philippians 4:13,
Ephesians 6:10, and
Romans 12:2.
References
External links
Clemson Tigers bio*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uiagalelei, DJ
2001 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
American sportspeople of Samoan descent
Clemson Tigers football players
Players of American football from California
Oregon State Beavers football players