Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei officially enters NCAA Transfer Portal
Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has officially entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, per Matt Zenitz of On3.
Uiagalelei started for the Tigers for two seasons, originally coming onto the scene as a backup for now Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence. When Lawrence was forced to miss time with COVID, Uiagalelei threw for 439 passing yards and two touchdowns with the pressure turned up to the max in primetime against Notre Dame on the road.
While the Tigers eventually lost that game 47-40 in double overtime, Uiagalelei’s performance provided hope for his eventual takeover, but those highs were hard to find over the last two seasons.
It all came to a head during the ACC title game on Saturday, when Uiagalelei started the game with back-to-back 3-and-outs. Freshman Cade Klubnik took over afterwards, finishing 20 of 24 for 279 yards and a touchdown, and the starting job.
During his time at Clemson, Uiagalelei has passed for 5,681 yards and 36 touchdowns to 17 interceptions. Additionally, he rushed for 913 yards and 15 touchdowns, as well.
He played high school football at Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, where he was a five-star prospect. He was the No. 12 overall recruit and No. 2 in the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
It’ll be fascinating to see where DJ Uiagalelei takes his talents, but whoever he chooses will be looking to harness his raw gifts better than he was able to at Clemson.
Dabo Swinney on DJ Uiagalelei: ‘He’s a special person’
The wheels were put into motion on Saturday night, as a new era began at Clemson with Cade Klubnik leading the Tigers to a 39-10 blowout win over North Carolina in the ACC Championship game.
Head coach Dabo Swinney did not shy away when asked about the future of the quarterback room after Klubnik replaced former starter DJ Uiagalelei after the third series of the game.
“Moving forward, Cade will be the starter going in and DJ will be the backup,” Swinney said after the game, before Uiagalelei entered the transfer portal. “We’ll keep moving forward, and I’m sure there will be plenty of conversations – [DJ] graduates in a week or so, so he’s got a bright future. He’s got a bright future. Obviously it didn’t end tonight the way he would like, but he’s got a bright, bright future as a football player.
“He’s a guy that always have a special place in my heart because nobody has ever worked harder, nobody has ever been more respected in this program. These guys love DJ, and I do, too.”
Uiagalelei only threw five passes in the ACC title game, including one incompletion on a simple out route that he threw right into the ground. It was time for a change, and Klubnik delivered. Completing 20 of his 24 passes, the true freshman threw for 279 yards and a touchdown while adding 30 more yards and another score on the ground.
“DJ, he’s a special person. He handles everything the right way. He handles everything with class,” assed Swinney. “He understood and knew – [OC Brandon] Streeter and I talked to both of them, as well,” Swinney said of Uiagalelei’s benching. “We hoped that he’d play well, but he didn’t have a great series, especially the first series there. But we stuck with the plan, and then the rest is history. You’ve got to give credit to Cade for that. He kind of came in and took it, and it happened.”
Despite Uiagalelei’s woes under center throughout his Clemson career, he still led the Tigers to back-to-back 10-win seasons and made major strides to improve over the offseason.
On3’s Pete Nakos and Barkley Truax contributed to this article.