DJ Uiagalelei sold Kool-Aid gummy worms to earn money in middle school

Since middle school, D.J. Uiagalelei has been on the grind. While he’s always been money on the football field, his play couldn’t buy him the iPhone he wanted when he was younger.

So Uiagalelei put his business mind to work, and made a foray into the candy industry. On College GameDay, Uiagalelei’s former side business as a Kool-Aid gummy worms salesman was detailed.

He loves spending his free time in the equipment room, just got his driver's license and even has his own gummy worm recipe.

Oh, and he's pretty good at football too.@JenLada introduces you to @ClemsonFB QB DJ Uiagalelei. pic.twitter.com/3XysSws2Vk

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 4, 2021

Luckily, he even shed light on how his famous snack is made. Continuing, Grace Raynor of The Athletic detailed Uiagalelei’s motivations.

“When Tausha (Uiagalelei’s Mother) had to tell her eldest son that she couldn’t afford to buy him an iPhone when D.J. was in middle school, he started his own side gig selling chips, candy and his specialty – gummy worms covered in Kool-Aid – to classmates until he had enough money to buy the phone himself,” wrote Raynor.

“The $1-per-bag gummy worms also made their way to St. John Bosco’s campus, where D.J. would sell between 50 and 70 bags per day before the school’s administration (tried to) shut him down.”

Evidently, Uiagalelei’s business sense has been on display from an early age. If he wanted something but couldn’t afford it, the Clemson quarterback found a way to work his way to it.

Moreover, Uiagalelei’s attitude of makes him an easy guy to get behind as a teammate. It’s no wonder that Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has continually praised his leadership ability this summer.

‘He’s a great leader’

The Clemson Tigers are counting on Uiagalelei to lead them into a new era for the program. With Trevor Lawrence moving on to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Tigers are officially Uiagalelei’s team to command.

Dabo Swinney’s seen tremendous leaders at the quarterback position for his teams, like Lawrence, Deshaun Watson and Tajh Boyd. As the 2021 season approaches, the man who brought two national championships to Clemson spoke on the strides Uiagalelei’s making as a leader.

“He’s had a good camp. One of the reasons we try to script practice the way we do is to really challenge the quarterback because he’s gotta manage the game,” said Swinney. “It’s not fair to expect to do certain things if you don’t expose him to those things in practice.

“He’s a great leader. Everybody has confidence in him, he makes others around him better. He loves it, he loves to compete and he loves to prepare. Obviously, he’s got the great skills to go with it. So he’s had a good camp, but he’s like everybody else – grinding every single day to get better.”

Boundless potential is the definition of D.J. Uiagalelei, and his internal motivation can help him reach it. If they can start their season with a win over Georgia, maybe the Tigers will celebrate with some Kool-Aid gummy worms.