Clemson has ‘legitimate shot’ with 5-star DL Matayo Uiagalelei

According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, the Clemson Tigers have a 14.9% chance of landing five-star defensive lineman Matayo Uiagalelei of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco.

However, Dave Uiagalelei, Uiagalelei’s father, took to social media on Friday to reaffirm his son’s interest in the Tigers.

My Clemson family, To think that Clemson doesn’t have a legitimate shot at Matayo is not true. My son will go through his own recruiting process with no outside influences and make the best decision for him alone with just mom and dad supporting him 💯% #ItsHisLifeHisDecision 🙏 pic.twitter.com/UHgL1KddhA

— Big Dave Uiagalelei (@DUiagalelei) March 11, 2022

“My Clemson family, to think that Clemson doesn’t have a legitimate shot at Matayo is not true,” Dave Uiagalelei said in the post that also included a screengrab of a call with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. “My son will go through his own recruiting process with no outside influences and make the best decision for him alone with just mom and dad supporting him 100%.”

The post quickly went viral with Tiger faithful, gaining more than 200 likes in less than 30 minutes.

Uiagalelei is one of the most coveted 2023 recruits in the country. And longtime followers understand the family connection between Matayo Uiagalelei and Clemson. His brother, D.J. Uiagalelei, is the starting quarterback for the Tigers.

Matayo Uiagalelei ranks as the No. 18 player overall, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. The On3 Consensus also lists him as the No. 3 defensive lineman and the third-best player in California.

Matayo Uiagalelei visiting Oregon this weekend

The Oregon Ducks are hosting a monster recruiting weekend, and Matayo Uiagalelei is one of the key visitors heading to Eugene.

Uiagelelei is listed by On3’s ScoopDuck as “one of the absolute top targets” in Oregon’s 2023 recruiting efforts. He was previously on campus to visit out the visit period in January.

Getting him back on campus is a significant development with Uiagelelei.

“Coach Lanning winning a national championship definitely helps a lot adding to his resume,” Uiagelelei told ScoopDuck last week. “(It) shows that he can turn Oregon into a high-level program. I like coach (Tosh) Lupoi. He is very good at his job. Something that he explained to me that stood out to me was his time at Bama and the NFL experience he has.” The On3 RPM lists USC as the favorite in Uiagelelei’s recruitment at 44.7%. However, the Ducks are right there at 37.7%.

Insiders believe the visit this weekend could go a long way toward shaping his eventual decision. The visit was also listed by On3 as one of the five most important visits of the weekend.