DJ Uiagalelei under two layers of pressure in 2023

On3’s JD PicKell has been hard at work breaking down some of the top storylines in college football heading into the 2023 season, including the quarterbacks with the most to prove.

On a recent episode of the Hard Count, the college football expert revealed his list of the college football quarterbacks under the most pressure next season. And making the list was Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.

“Transferred from Clemson to Oregon State, and the pressure for him, I believe, is twofold. For DJ, it’s a little bit personal; we can all understand that, right? A five-star guy out of high school, one of the top quarterbacks in the country, gets to Clemson on the heels of the Trevor Lawrence era, and the feeling is tons of ability. We all saw what he was at Saint John Bosco… let’s keep this train rolling,” opened PicKell.

Uiagalelei was a highly touted five-star recruit in the 2020 recruiting class and impressed in the limited action he saw as a true freshman while filling in for Trevor Lawrence.

“He flashed versus Notre Dame, even in a losing effort, and you were saying the future is bright. And then didn’t really go how you expected to go if you’re a Clemson fan. It was an unfortunate situation for all parties involved… When I say it’s personal, I mean DJ U hasn’t lost his confidence in who he is as a passer, as a quarterback. I think that five-star kid, that five-star quarterback is still very much so who DJ U. But with what the pressure is for this year, it’s proving himself right.

“After transferring from Clemson, Uiagalelei was critical of how Swinney’s offense hindered his abilities as a quarterback. Some thought what he said was fair; others considered it foul. But it definitely added to the spotlight Uiagalelei is under.

“There was an interview he did… basically, he said, hey, listen, I wasn’t a huge fan of what we did schematically at Clemson. And he has every right to say that. You look at what Clemson’s offense did last year, and I don’t think a lot of people are a fan of what Clemson did schematically last year. I also don’t believe that DJ was the problem wholeheartedly.

“What I’m saying is, whenever he goes out and says that there’s now pressure on him from the outside looking in, saying okay, you’re not in that system anymore. You came to Oregon State knowing what the system was going to be. So now, perform. That’s the personal part of the pressure, proving himself right and making good on his ability.”

Still, the is another layer of pressure for Uiagalelei at Oregon State. As PicKell said it, the Beavers can’t take a step back under Uiagalelei. Regardless if it’s his fault or not, he will be the one to take most, if not, all the blame

“The other part of this is he’s not walking into an operation at Oregon State that’s trying to make a bowl game,” said PicKell. “He’s now walking into a team that Oregon State that’s still trying to figure out who they are. They won 10 games last year. They’re an operation. Yeah, they lost a lot on defense, but I still think Oregon State is pretty dangerous. A lot of it rides with DJ.

“If they take a step backward, regardless of the other positions they lost, what’s the blame gonna be? What are people gonna say? DJ came to Oregon State, and we had a good thing going, and it went off the rails when he got here. Regardless of how it looks, I understand regardless if he has no help on the line or the defense gives up 40 a game.”

Uiagalelei will make his Oregon State debut on Sept. 3 on the road against San Jose State. Although the opponent is not a big-name one, it will be the first test for Uiagalelei. More importantly, it will be the first time we see him outside of the Clemson offense and truly see who he is as a quarterback.