Florida State QB DJ Uiagalelei: Facing Clemson for First Time Will Be ‘Weird’

The former Clemson Tigers quarterback returns to the ACC as quarterback of the Florida State Seminoles.

With the advent of the transfer portal and the extra year of eligibility afforded to college football players affected by the COVID-19 season in 2020, there have been a rash of super-senior quarterbacks who’ve jumped to multiple schools. DJ Uiagalelei is a prime example, as he prepares to play for his third different Power 5 program in as many years.

Uiagalelei began his career at Clemson as the heir apparent to Trevor Lawrence, and early on, it looked as if he might put together a stellar Tigers career just like his former teammate. But after two up-and-down seasons as starter, he graduated and transferred to Oregon State for the ’23 season. This fall, he returns to the ACC, suiting up for Florida State, a conference rival of his alma mater.

The Seminoles will play host to the Tigers on Oct. 5, with Uiagalelei the presumptive starting quarterback at FSU. In an interview with On3‘s Andy Staples, Uiagalelei admitted that facing Clemson, which is still led by his former coach, Dabo Swinney, and boasts a number of his close friends on the roster, will be “a little weird.”

“I think yeah [it will be weird], because that’s somewhere I played at,” Uiagalelei said. “That was my first place I played at. That’s the place I graduated from. A lot of my friends are still on the team, a lot of the coaches I still know, and I still have a lot of love for Clemson, and they did nothing but—it was an amazing time I had at Clemson.

“Granted, my journey ended up taking me somewhere else, but I loved my time at Clemson. Coach Swinney is an amazing coach. All the guys there were great. Every single staff member there was great, and I loved it. I graduated. My best friends still play there. I still talk to them to this day. Like, my brothers are still on that team. When that time comes, it’ll definitely be different.”

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DJ Uiagalelei will finish his college career at Florida State after playing at rival Clemson as well as Oregon State :: Ehsan Kassim/Tallahassee Democrat/USA TODAY Network

Uiagalelei was on the other side of the Clemson-Florida State rivalry twice, leading the Tigers to a pair of wins. In 2021, he threw for 189 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 30–20 win at Clemson. The following year in Tallahassee, he threw for 203 yards and three touchdowns and added a fourth score on the ground in a 34–28 victory for of his best performances as a Tiger.

He looked back at that game in Tallahassee as he prepares to make Doak Campbell Stadium his home for his final collegiate season.

“I think it’ll be a surreal moment,” Uiagalelei said. “… It’s going to be amazing, man. When I played here with Clemson in 2022, the stadium was rocking. The tomahawk chop, it was amazing. Even though we won, it was just amazing. It was the coolest place I’ve played at in college.”