Could DJ Uiagalelei have a 6th season of college football eligibility?

Florida State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is currently in his fifth year of college football after spending three seasons at Clemson and 2023 at Oregon State. He exited Florida State’s Sept. 28 game against SMU with a hand injury after throwing three interceptions, including a pick-six. The timeframe for his return is unknown.

Because of the injury, Uiagalelei could attempt to secure a medical redshirt and return to college football for his sixth season. That would mean sitting out for the rest of the season. The other option is working to get back on the field and entering the NFL draft.

A source told On3 that Uiagalelei has yet to decide his next steps.

The quarterback is using his COVID-19 year with the Seminoles. He played in nine games as a true freshman in 2020 at Clemson, starting two games because Trevor Lawrence was sidelined with COVID. Because of that, Uiagalaelei did not take a redshirt.

The 23-year-old quarterback has played in five games this season for Florida State. NCAA rules state players can play in four regular season games and still redshirt. Uiagalelei has already crossed that threshold. Postseason games do not count towards redshirt eligibility.

The Florida State quarterback could attempt to secure a medical redshirt waiver. An athlete “may be granted an additional year of competition by the conference or the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement for reasons of ‘hardship,'” according to the NCAA manual.

Uigalelei could face an uphill battle. The waiver comes with the following requirements:

+ Student-athlete triggered use of one of their four seasons of competition
+ The injury must occur before the completion of the first half of the season — 8th contest
+ The quarterback has not participated in 30% of the max number of games — 4
+ Provide medical documentation he cannot compete

“Every waiver request is considered on a case-by-case basis depending on the full record of factual information,” the NCAA said.

DJ Uiagalelei was injured in Florida State’s fifth game of the season, before the halfway point. He barely missed the NCAA’s 30% requirement, which factors in the Seminoles’ 12 games and the national championship.

Securing a medical redshirt has become a trend in college football. Utah quarterback Cameron Rising used a medical redshirt to return to the Utes for the 2024 season after an injury in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2023 and sitting out the 2023 season. Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman is in his seventh season after previous stops at Texas Tech and Michigan.

And Miami tight end Cam McCormick was granted a ninth year of eligibility in January. McCormick began his career at Oregon in 2016 and was injured at different points in four consecutive seasons. He also redshirt and had a COVID year in 2020 that allowed him to petition the NCAA for an unprecedented ninth season of eligibility.

If Uiagalelei goes this route, it’s unknown if he will return to Florida State for another season or enter the transfer portal for a third time. Because the NCAA altered its transfer rules, the quarterback could enter the portal and play for a new school in 2025-26 without securing a waiver.

The former five-star recruit has thrown for four touchdowns and six interceptions with a 53.8 completion percentage in 2024, his only season at Florida State.