DJ Uiagalelei opens up on playing against Clemson in 2024

On Nov. 7, 2020, DJ Uiagalelei took the field at Notre Dame Stadium and threw for 439 yards in his first career start. It was the beginning of a three-year run at Clemson, and after getting his degree in 2022, he entered the transfer portal to play at Oregon State.

Four years later – almost to the day – Uiagalelei will go against his former team for the first time.

After Jonathan Smith left Oregon State, Uiagalelei entered the portal again and committed to Florida State. By doing so, he’s setting up a rematch against Clemson on Nov. 5 at Doak Walker Stadium in Tallahassee.

He admitted it’s going to be a little weird on the other side.

“I think yeah, because that was somewhere I played at,” Uiagalelei told Andy Staples on Andy Staples On3. “That was my first place I played at. That’s the place I graduated from. A lot of my friends are still on the team, a lot of coaches I still know.”

DJ Uiagalelei’s time at Clemson had some ups and downs. He threw for nearly 5,700 yards and 36 touchdowns in his three years with the Tigers, including two years as the starter in 2021 and 2022. At Oregon State last year, his numbers improved a bit as he threw for 2,521 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Now, Uiagalelei is looking to fill Jordan Travis’ shoes as Florida State’s starting quarterback. He arrives in Tallahassee as the No. 12-ranked quarterback to enter the portal this cycle, according to the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings. With Travis off to the NFL, Uiagalelei will look to keep things rolling for the Seminoles after their 13-1 season in 2023.

But with the Clemson matchup looming, Uiagalelei said he remains grateful for his time with the Tigers. In fact, he keeps in touch with people around the program who were there with him. Still, it’s sure to be an interesting day when FSU and Clemson square off.

“I still have a lot of love for Clemson,” Uiagalelei said. “And they did nothing but – it was an amazing time I had at Clemson. Granted, my journey ended up taking me somewhere else, but I loved my time at Clemson. Coach [Dabo] Swinney is an amazing coach, all the guys they were great and every single staff member there was great. I loved it. And I graduated, like, my best friends still play there. I still talk to them to this day. My brothers are still on that team.

“But yeah, when that time comes, it’ll definitely be different.”