DJ Uiagalelei’s father sets record straight on DJ, Clemson
By: Staff Report April 26, 2023

Former Clemson and current Oregon State quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei caused a stir and sparked some controversy with comments that he made to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic earlier this week regarding his time at Clemson.

Among other things, Uiagalelei said that he “didn’t want to do what I was doing at Clemson” as far as the offensive scheme, which he said was “very basic” and “didn’t help me out as a quarterback and play to my strengths.”

DJ’s father, Dave Uiagalelei, wanted to set the record straight about his son and Clemson, and so he made the effort to do so in an interview with Guy Haberman and Yogi Roth on SiriusXM College Sports Radio.

“I want to put this on record. I’m truly grateful for what Clemson has done for my son,” Dave said. “There’s nothing bad or anything. I still have a lot of friends at Clemson, and I’m grateful for what they did with my kid.”

DJ spent the last three seasons playing for the Tigers, compiling a 22-6 record as the team’s starter. As a junior in 2022, he completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 2,521 yards and 22 touchdowns with seven interceptions while also rushing for 545 yards and seven more scores.

The former five-star prospect from California started the first 13 games for Clemson last season, including the ACC Championship Game against North Carolina, but lost his starting job in that game after being replaced by Cade Klubnik.

DJ then officially entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal back on Dec. 5 before announcing on Christmas Eve that he would be heading to Oregon State.

Dave spoke about what DJ learned from his experience at Clemson and the lessons he hopes DJ can take with him as he starts the next chapter of his college career in Corvallis.

“I think DJ, what he took from that is just the experience of a Power Five and being out there,” Dave said. “It was really tough for him, just being out there alone by himself. What he did learn was how to handle the pressure. It was really tough, but I just think that’s what he got from Clemson was just the experiences of being in the Power Five and playing in those big games, and hopefully he took some stuff from that and learned that he could bring here to Oregon State. That’s not as much pressure as it is at Clemson, but it’s still pressure.

“But I think he learned a lot of just dealing with media, dealing with the pressure of being at the top, the No. 1 school. Just understanding how to handle these things now, hopefully he can bring here to Oregon and just learn how to let go and just be free and just try to learn and work through some of the struggles that he had there and hopefully find some success here in Corvallis.”

Dave added that DJ “needs to build that confidence back” under Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith and the Beavers’ staff.

“That’s why I’m very appreciate of Coach Smith and the staff there and his quarterback coach,” Dave said. “They’re allowing my son to be able to make mistakes and gain his confidence back.”

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