DJ Uiagalelei reveals how he grew as a player at Oregon State

DJ Uiagalelei grew as a player at Oregon State and he said he’ll take those lessons with him to Florida State this coming season, his final one in college football.

Now at his third stop and a return trip to the ACC, Uiagalelei mans a team that just missed out on the College Football Playoff. Safe to say, the expectation is to make the newly formed 12-team bracket this year.

If Uiagalelei continues to grow as he did at Oregon State, the Seminoles could go far.

“For me, man, I think being at Oregon State was amazing,” Uiagalelei said. “Honestly, I think Coach Smith and all the coaching staff there and all my brothers there, I learned a lot from those guys there and it was something different that I was doing at Clemson from just like a totally different standpoint. It was just cool. Like I learned a lot from the offense that I ran, it was totally different than anything I’ve done in all my years of football, running more of a pro style game.”

Simply put, Uiagalelei had fun on a competitive team that was in the Pac-12 race up until the end of the regular season.

“It was fun man, I had a lot of enjoyment there,” Uiagalelei said. “A lot of my teammates were super cool. I got to be back on the West Coast. I got to play in the Pac-12 for the last year in existence … And for me being a West Coast guy growing up seeing the Pac-12, being a USC fan and just seeing a lot of the players I looked up to, play in the Pac-12 was pretty special. 

“But a lot of things, I learned a lot of life lessons, a lot of things about the game of football to be able to grow my knowledge and it was enjoyable. It was a fun time playing Oregon State.”

Last season, Uiagalelei put up 2,638 yards, 21 touchdowns, seven interceptions, a 57.1% completion percentage, 219 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. Over the course of his career, he has 8,319 yards, 57 touchdowns, 24 interceptions, a 59.1% completion percentage, 1,132 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns.

As a member of the Class of 2020, Uiagalelei was a five-star recruit out of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 3 overall prospect in the state, the No. 2 quarterback in the class and the No. 12 overall prospect in the class.