Cal Sports Report

DJ Uiagalelei Listed as Florida State's Starting QB Against Cal

There had been speculation on whether Uiagalelei would remain the starter against the Bears after the Seminoles' 0-3 start

Jake Curtis

Florida State Seminoles quarterback DJ Uiagalelei
Florida State Seminoles quarterback DJ Uiagalelei / Melina Myers-Imagn Images
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Because Florida State has averaged just 15.3 points while starting 0-3, there has been speculation about whether DJ Uiagalelei would remain the Seminoles' starting quarterback for Saturday's game against Cal.

Former Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell tweeted this during Florida State’s loss to Memphis on Saturday.

However, the Florida State depth chart released on Monday still lists Uiagalelei as the starter, so apparently he will be the Seminoles' quarterback against Cal (3-0) on Saturday night (4 p.m. Pacific time) in Tallahassee, Florida.

Redshirt freshman Brock Glenn presumably would be the starter if Uiagalelei is benched at any point, but Glenn was not effective in the two full games he played last season, against Louisville in the ACC championship game and against Georgia in the Orange Bowl.  He was a combine 17-for-47 in those two games with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

During Monday press conference, FSU head coach Mike Norvell was asked to assess Uiagalelei’s play in the 20-12 loss to Memphis, when Uiagalelei went 16-for-30 for 201 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

“Looking at DJ, obviously it’s been a challenging start for everybody,” Norvell said regarding Uiagalelei. “It takes 11. We all have a job; we all have responsibility. When you look at the game there were some things that DJ did really well in putting guys in position, you’re trying to give opportunities.

“But there was also a few times we had some missed opportunities on his part, in our overall execution.

“But I am pleased with the way he’s preparing. I am pleased with the things he’s doing. You see the moments where he is giving us a chance, he’s giving us an opportunity to have big plays. I thought there was a lot of reads and things he needed to do and position where he needed to put the ball that was positive. Like I said there was a few times we got to be better.

“I’m believing that we’re going to see growth at every position that we have. We’re going to see continued competition at that. But I know what he’s putting in. I see what he is seeing and then obviously we all have to be more consistent about the execution of that and make sure that for this offense we get the spark that’s necessary to go and be what I believe we can be.”

The coach said there would be “continued competition," but it apparently is sticking with Uiagalelei for at least one more game.

Uiagalelei had a big game against Cal last year while playing for Oregon State. He was 19-for-25 for 275 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in the Beavers' 52-40 victory over Cal in Berkeley.

In three games for Florida State this season, Uiagalelei has completed 56.57% of his passes for 666 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Here is Norvell's Monday press conference.

Norvell had complimentary things to say about Cal, as coaches always do when speaking of the upcoming opponent.

“They beat an SEC opponent [Auburn] on the road,” Norvell said. “This is a team that defensively they play fast. They are aggressive in how they attack. You can tell they are very well coached.

“Offensively they’ve got a very versatile attack in the run game and a quarterback that’s been really efficient and being able to make a lot of different throws. I’d say they’re playing at a high level in the early part of the season.”

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Jake Curtis

JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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