Father of D.J., Matayo Uiagalelei makes joke if brothers face off in Oregon-Oregon State game

D.J. and Matayo Uiagalelei are very close as brothers and they could very well share the same field against each other this coming season.

D.J. Uiagalelei transferred from Clemson to Oregon State while his younger brother committed to play for Oregon and will be a freshman this fall. Their father Dave knows the close relationship between his sons, which is why he made a bold prediction if the two are face-to-face when Oregon takes on Oregon State.

If Matayo needs to sack the quarterback, their father Dave suggested he wouldn’t be able to muster the courage to do it against D.J., despite being in a different uniform.

“Well, we jokingly talked about it just recently during Christmas break,” Dave said on Sirius XM’s Pac-12 Radio. “I said to D.J., what are you going to do if Matayo is lining up across from you. And Matayo is sitting right there and D.J. goes if we’re winning, and I know we’re gonna win, I’m really gonna run towards Matayo and then let him sack me a couple of times just to help him with his sack race.” 

Their father went on to say that he could not see the younger Uiagalelei tackling D.J.

“I’m just saying because these two are so close,” Dave Uiagalelei said. “And to tell you the truth, I cannot see Matayo tackling his brother. I can’t see it. Because you guys have no idea how close these two are. These two brothers, I mean, we were in a hospital recently because of a situation that happened (with Matayo) where he was in a hospital, but his brother sat there all night. I mean, literally up while me and his mom were sleeping, trying to sleep on a chair. 

“But D.J/ stayed up all night. And Matayo would move and make sure he was covered with the blanket. If the nurses didn’t come, D.J. would get up. That’s the love that these two share, so I can’t even see it in my mind, Matayo tackling D.J. (Matayo is like), dad it’s my job. I gotta sack him. I’m thinking in my head like yeah, you’re gonna just run by him and grab his shirt and try to pull him down. You’re not gonna take his head off. I know you’re not.”

D.J. Uiagalelei threw for 5,681 yards, 36 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in that time with Clemson while also contributing 913 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground.

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As a member of the Class of 2023, Matayo Uiagalelei is a five-star prospect out of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, according to the On3 Consensus. He is the No. 5 overall prospect in the state, the No. 4 defensive lineman in the class and the No. 29 overall prospect in the class.