Former Clemson Tigers QB to Start First Game of College Football Season

The former Clemson Tigers starting quarterback is ready to kick off the college football season at Florida State.

Apr 20, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback DJ Uiagalelei (4) during the Spring Showcase at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. / Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

The former Clemson Tigers quarterback is ready to start the first game of the season back in the ACC with the Florida State Seminoles.

DJ Uiagalelei won't be able to settle into the season at his new school before having the spotlight on him as the Seminoles are preparing for their Saturday morning game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. It will take place in Dublin, Ireland and will be the first game of the college football season.

This will be the third stop in the college career of Uiagalelei. He started with the Tigers after signing there as a five-star quarterback, one of the top players in the country.

Coming in with such expectations and having to follow in the footsteps of Trevor Lawrence at Clemson, it was always going to be hard for him to live up to the hype that was built.

He spent two years starting for the Tigers and was never able to take that next step in becoming the elite player that fans expected.

Over those two seasons, he had 5,681 passings yards with 36 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also had 15 career rushing touchdowns with 913 yards.

He entered the tranfer portal for the first time after the 2022 season and took his talents to the Pac-12 with the Oregon State Beavers.

It was a solid season. He had 2,638 passing yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He continued his ability as a red zone rushing threat with six more scores on the ground.

The 23-year-old entered the portal again after last season though, with plenty of shakeup hitting the Beavers program.

This time, he went to Florida State and will now be the starting quarterback for one of Clemson's biggest rivals.

"Super excited, man. This is an unbelievable opportunity God's given me, Coach [Mike] Norvell and all the coaches giving me the opportunity to be able to come here, be a Seminole," said Uiagalelei when speaking to the media a few days ago. "So I wanna be able to [make Florida State Proud] and represent for my teammates, man. I'm super excited."

Similar to his first season with the Tigers, he'll be following up a legendary passer in the school's history after Jordan Travis was drafted by the New York Jets.

Should he keep the job throughout the season, Clemson is scheduled to take on the Seminoles in Tallahassee on October 5.