Brad sux.***

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Apr 23, 2023, 11:17 AM

https://theathletic.com/4438474/2023/04/23/dj-uiagalelei-oregon-state-football/

DJ Uiagalelei ready for fresh start at Oregon State

After three years at Clemson, Uiagalelei has made his way to Oregon State and is trying to fit into the Beavers' offensive system.

DJ Uiagalelei’s path leads him to Oregon State and a fresh start away from Clemson
Bruce Feldman

CORVALLIS, Ore. — DJ Uiagalelei, at 6-foot-4 and 251 pounds with a football engulfed by his hand, still stands out even if no one really notices him anymore. At least not here. Uiagalelei and his new teammates at Oregon State go through a Tuesday practice on a chilly mid-April morning as a handful of students and construction workers pass by without slowing down to take a peek at the practice field across the road from the Beavers’ stadium.

Two years ago, the former five-star recruit did national TV commercials with Dr Pepper as he was primed to be football’s next big thing. Now, Uiagalelei has relocated to the other side of the country, and he isn’t worried about winning a starting job but just learning a new system and becoming the best quarterback he can be. Later this week, two of his old buddies, Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, are expected to be selected with the first two picks of the NFL Draft. It’s the place many observers, including Uiagalelei, expected him to be. But if you think there’s any jealousy there, that just doesn’t seem to be how he’s wired.

A few weeks ago, when Uiagalelei was home in Southern California for spring break, he worked out with the two QBs while they were prepping for the draft.

“I’ve known them since eighth grade,” he said. “I’m really happy for them. I think they’re both great players and great human beings. Every time I go home, we work together at 3DQB. It’s exciting to see because they put in a lot of hard work to be in that position, to be able to go 1-2. To see them flourish in college — Bryce winning the Heisman and C.J. almost winning a Heisman and playing in those big-time games, I’m happy for them.

“God has a different plan for me than them, and my story is still being written. Yeah, I thought that was gonna be me, but my time is not God’s time, and God’s time is always the best time. I’m just trying to follow his plan and his path.”

Uiagalelei’s path has led him here, nearly 3,000 miles from Clemson, to Corvallis and a program coming off its first top-20 season in a decade.

Taking over as Clemson’s starter after Trevor Lawrence left for the NFL, Uiagalelei was the Tigers’ quarterback for teams that finished No. 14 and No. 13 in the AP poll the past two seasons. As a freshman in 2020, Uiagalelei stepped in when Lawrence was sidelined with COVID-19 and excelled, throwing for almost 800 yards and accounting for six touchdowns and no interceptions in games against Boston College and Notre Dame. He broke a Clemson freshman record against the Irish, throwing for 439 yards. But his 2021 season was shaky as the Tigers had offensive issues, looking stagnant and predictable, and he completed only 56 percent of his passes with a 9-10 TD-INT ratio.

The 2022 season was better as Uiagalelei threw 22 touchdowns and just seven picks and ran for 545 yards and seven more touchdowns, but Clemson’s offense still sputtered, and the former all-everything recruit spent a lot of time looking over his shoulder before eventually getting benched for freshman Cade Klubnik. When Uiagalelei committed to Clemson, the program felt like an ideal fit for him as a person, but it wasn’t ideal for him as a quarterback.

Uiagalelei watched a lot of film of other college offenses before putting his name in the transfer portal because he wanted to go somewhere he thought would get him ready for the NFL with a pro-style offense.

“I didn’t want to do what I was doing at Clemson,” he said. “I didn’t really like what we did there scheme-wise. I didn’t think we did very much. I thought it was very basic. It didn’t help me out as a quarterback and play to my strengths. I wanted to go somewhere that would play to my strengths and go somewhere that would develop me for the NFL. Play-action, work under center, throw the ball deep.”

When he picked Oregon State, he said he didn’t need to see the campus or the facilities.

“I didn’t really care about that,” he said. “The only reason why I’m going there is to play football. It doesn’t need to be a big city. It could have 10 people there; as long as there’s gonna be a football on the field, it was gonna be fine.”

What attracted him to Corvallis was the offense Jonathan Smith and offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren run. It helped the Beavers go from the bottom of the Pac-12 to 10-3 last year, their best season since Dennis Erickson’s team that Smith quarterbacked to No. 4 in the country in 2000. But it’s an offense that definitely could use a boost. The Beavers ranked second-to-last in the Pac-12 in passing and No. 105 in the country in 2022.

“This has been definitely different,” Uiagalelei said. “The scheme is totally different than what we were doing at Clemson. I feel like it’s a lot better. It’s just new stuff. I wasn’t doing any of these run-checks at the line; I wasn’t really under center. It’s a lot more plays. All of these different play-action plays; these different two-man routes, three-man routes. All the stuff that I wanted to do at Clemson but we weren’t doing. It’s exciting. I’m just taking it day by day.”

Uiagalelei graduated from Clemson in three years with a communications degree. In Corvallis, he’s doing everything he can to learn the Beavers’ system. Every practice means a new install, he said. That means trying to understand it, remembering it and remembering the protections. Then every night he goes over it at home. His girlfriend, a former volleyball player who graduated from Clemson and moved to Corvallis with him, helps him go over it on his whiteboard like he’s prepping for a test.

“She asks me the play, and I’ll draw it up. I just keep going over it, going over scripts, knowing exactly where everyone’s at,” he said. “I think the biggest part right now is trying to be able to visualize it. When you get the play or get the signal or you read it off the wristband, then you can visualize it in your head. You can see all the stuff developing, so you don’t have to do that at the line.”

Uiagalelei had a staggering amount of success before he arrived at Clemson. His powerhouse high school program, St. John Bosco from California, was ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today. He threw 127 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, averaging 18 yards per completion. He was also a star pitcher who hit 96 mph on the baseball radar gun.

After his strong debut at Clemson, jumping in for Lawrence and playing so well, Uiagalelei’s struggles in 2021 left him reeling as he reached a low point.

“I never thought my sophomore year was gonna happen like it did,” he said. “Going 2-2 to start the year; not throwing for 300 yards in even one game. … Going through that and having adversity — I’d never really had adversity in my life really where people talk about it — I’d never had it in my career. I’d say my football career was easy. I had it really good. Yeah, I had quarterback competitions, but I never really had an injury. I never was losing games — yeah, we’d lost to Mater Dei, but it was in a championship game, and that was the hardest adversity, and then it was being out there by myself. My family is not there. People are different. That was my lowest time. That stuff had never hit me before.”

Uiagalelei said he contemplated transferring after his sophomore season as his frustration with the Tigers’ scheme was mounting. He wanted to use more dropback plays and more play-action and throw the ball deep.

“I talked to my offensive coordinator (Brandon Streeter, who was fired after the season), ‘We’ve gotta fix some stuff; like we have to do something that fits me differently,’” Uiagalelei said. “I didn’t want to run as much. I got tired of running the ball. Sophomore year, I was hurt, tore my PCL, had a broken finger. But I wanted to stay there and stick it out. But my junior year, towards the end, I knew, ‘I want to get out of here. Yeah, I need to leave and get a fresh start.’”

In 2022, Uiagalelei knew the Clemson staff was intrigued by Klubnik, another former five-star quarterback recruit. He said the coaches were open with him about the situation but added, “There were some times when I had no clue. Like in the Notre Dame game, I’m in there. I got down the field, we just had our biggest drive. I made some good throws, and they just pulled me, and I had no clue why. I was doing everything that they told me to do.”

Clemson went to South Bend with an 8-0 record but trailed 14-0 at the half. The Tigers began their second series in the third quarter backed up near their goal line, and Uiagalelei drove them near midfield before the drive stalled. Klubnik entered the game on the next series but was picked off on the second play, and Clemson stumbled to a 35-14 loss.

“I don’t think my offensive coordinator knew either (that head coach Dabo Swinney wanted to make the change),” he said. “(Dabo said) ‘I just want to get a spark.’ I was pissed, like, ‘What do you mean a spark? We just had our best drive right there. I’m doing exactly what you’re telling me to do.’”

Uiagalelei felt Swinney had lost confidence in him that went beyond that game. There were games, he said, when he felt the coaches were reluctant to call pass plays in the second half.

“You can feel that too as a player,” he said. “You know sometimes how they call plays; like calling plays scared, timid. Not opening it up 100 percent because they don’t trust the quarterback. I felt that definitely at times. For the quarterback that is tough, like, ‘Man, they don’t trust you.’ They’re saying, ‘Yeah, we trust you, but their actions don’t show it.’ And it’s not just me who sees it, all the other players see it as well. ‘Man, why aren’t we throwing the ball? It’s wide open.’ It was tough.”

Ben Gulbranson, who went 7-1 last year as the Beavers’ starting quarterback, said Smith’s program is a great environment for a quarterback to play in.

“I really like the amount of control we have in the offense and the amount of trust the coaches put in us,” said the sophomore who threw for almost 1,500 yards in 2022. “We’re making run checks, pass checks. It’s just a fun offense to play in once you grasp the system and apply it to different defenses we’re playing.

“(Smith) trusts people to do their jobs, and he trusts them to execute and lets them be free in their role. He’s not gonna hover over you and micromanage. He lets you be you and show your best stuff when it comes to everybody, coaches and players. He allows you a lot of freedom. It’s a great culture we have here.”

Despite the tumultuous two seasons Uiagalelei had as a starter at Clemson, he said he has no regrets about opting to go there.

“For me, I look at it as a blessing,” he said. “I feel everything happens for a reason, so I don’t think that was a waste of time. I learned a lot there, even though it wasn’t the best scenario or best situation and not what I ideally wanted. But I think that’s where God wanted me to go to. I met a lot of friends there. Met my girlfriend there, probably gonna marry her, my potential wife. It was a blessing even though there was some stuff I wish would’ve went differently. I wish I would’ve learned some different stuff; feel like I didn’t get developed as much as I wanted to.”

One thing Uiagalelei has worked on is blocking out the outside noise, and he has taken some extensive steps to do that.

“I have a lot of my family members blocked on social media, especially on Twitter,” he said. “I try to stay off Twitter. A lot of that stuff man, nothing good is coming from social media for the most part. It’s tough because I love social media, but I try to stay off it as much as possible and block out the noise. I try to keep my circle tight. I just trust and listen to the people in this building.”

A bonus with his move is that his younger brother, Matayo, a 6-6, 270-pound freshman defensive end, is just 45 minutes down the road at Oregon. The brothers visit each other every other weekend.

The stark contrasts of going from Clemson to Oregon State aren’t just scheme-wise but also the vibe around both college towns. The latter also has been a welcome change.

“It’s a totally different vibe from Clemson, where it’s so small and football is so big,” he said. “Like when they talk about how football is king in the South, it’s really true. Everyone from the teachers to the student body, they know. … Like they know who your family is and everything. They obviously know I play football. I’m the only Polynesian there, wear different clothes from everybody, walk around with my doo-rag on, pants a little baggier than most people. When you’re walking around the town, eating lunch, they’re coming up to you asking for autographs, wanting to take pictures. It’s totally different here.”

Gulbranson, who is in a three-way battle with Uiagalelei and gifted freshman Aidan Chiles for the starting job, said the coaches were transparent with him and told him before their bowl game that they wanted to bring in another quarterback, and then Lindgren called him during winter break to tell him the program was adding Uiagalelei.

“DJ’s been great, just a real genuine guy,” Gulbranson said. “He’s super nice. I think he fits in well with our team.”

Smith likes how Uiagalelei has put his head down and worked since arriving in January.

“He’s super low ego and been an awesome teammate, and I think our guys have appreciated that,” Smith said. “He’s been in that building literally every day, studying, going over the plays, schemes, watching his practice film by himself and with his coaches. He’s been grinding.”

Oregon State isn’t going to make a decision on who the starting quarterback will be until preseason camp, and Smith believes he has three strong options. Uiagalelei has impressed his new teammates and his new head coach.

“He’s a physical player, strong in the pocket. Got a strong arm. He’s athletic,” Smith said. “I think he’s picked up the scheme really well. We knew there was gonna be a learning curve, but he’s smart. In the back half of the spring, he got more and more comfortable. He’s got leadership qualities and he connects with the players.”

The perspective Uiagalelei has gained from his time at Clemson has aided his transition to Corvallis. His goals haven’t changed. But before he suited up for the Beavers, he did get a call from the Los Angeles Dodgers to see if he wanted to give baseball another shot, he said, offering a spot at a tryout. He appreciated the invitation but wasn’t tempted.

Throughout it all, Uiagalelei has been buoyed by his family and his faith, leaning on both as he has coped with adversity.

“I just try to lean on God and pray about it and read about it, and that’s where I get my strength from. I feel like parents did a great job of instilling that in me,” he said.

It helps that there are plenty of recent examples of quarterbacks who had shaky first acts before hitting the reset button via the portal and thriving in their new home. Joe Burrow won a Heisman Trophy and a national title for LSU after being unable to get on the field at Ohio State. Will Levis barely played at Penn State before becoming a star at Kentucky. Hendon Hooker had an inconsistent run at Virginia Tech before leading Tennessee to its best season in two decades.

In fact, three of the past four Heisman-winning quarterbacks started their careers at a different school than where they won it.

“One of my favorite rappers says it best, it’s a marathon,” Uiagalelei said. “It’s not a race. I feel like for me, my race is just getting started and that I haven’t touched the surface yet, and I’m gonna keep running my race, and wherever that finish line is, I’m gonna get there when I get there. I don’t put any pressure on getting there super fast because I know things are gonna happen, and things happen for a reason, like my time at Clemson.”

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Uiagalelei said. “I didn’t want to run as much. I got tired of running the ball. Sophomore year, I was hurt, tore my PCL, had a broken finger. But I wanted to stay there and stick it out. But my junior year, towards the end, I knew, ‘I want to get out of here. Yeah, I need to leave and get a fresh start.’”

in that case why didnt he just quit then and tell dabo he was transferring? if he didnt want to be here mid season just leave the team. instead he stuck around on a team he didnt want to be on holding back cade from getting much needed reps.

Uiagalelei felt Swinney had lost confidence in him that went beyond that game. There were games, he said, when he felt the coaches were reluctant to call pass plays in the second half.

“You can feel that too as a player,” he said. “You know sometimes how they call plays; like calling plays scared, timid. Not opening it up 100 percent because they don’t trust the quarterback. I felt that definitely at times. For the quarterback that is tough, like, ‘Man, they don’t trust you.’ They’re saying, ‘Yeah, we trust you, but their actions don’t show it.’ And it’s not just me who sees it, all the other players see it as well. ‘Man, why aren’t we throwing the ball? It’s wide open.’ It was tough.”

dabo bent over backwards to make him happen at the detriment of the team..yet he feels dabo lost confidence in him? im sorry i used to think he was a good kid but this interview shows me someone unwilling to take any blame for his own shortcomings.

Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Apparently the offense was too simple, that is why***

Re: Apparently the offense was too simple, that is why***

But it was simple for a reason. Think of it that way.

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Most all of it, really.***

Most all of it, really.***

Sometimes I think you people don’t know anything about football.

Re: Sometimes I think you people don’t know anything about football.

Re: Sometimes I think you people don’t know anything about football.

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

DJ was at Clemson three years.

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Oregon State will learn soon enough

truth

My thought as well.***

Re: Oregon State will learn soon enough

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

I guess the coaches at osu must stink too based

Re: I guess the coaches at osu must stink too based

Noting he has said makes me less supportive of him

article link here...

Dang, it’s tough to root for the guy after reading that.

truth!

Re: Dang, it’s tough to root for the guy after reading that.

Re: Dang, it’s tough to root for the guy after reading that.

Re: Dang, it’s tough to root for the guy after reading that.

Re: article link here...

Re: article link here...

Re: article link here...

lot of head scratching things there

Re: article link here...

A. I've never really understood why people scour Twitter

Re: I agree with DJ 100%

He said something bad about our coaches, so he will be hated here.***

Re: Brad sux.***

Re: He said something bad about our coaches, so he will be hated here.***

Re: He said something bad about our coaches, so he will be hated here.***

Re: He said something bad about our coaches, so he will be hated here.***

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Every interview is gonna try to get him to bash Clemson.

COMING FROM SOMEONE WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN BENCHED

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Dear DJ

Re: Dear DJ

Re: Dear DJ

So coaching and scheme is why He got beat out by a freshman?

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

he couldn't read the defensive end. So, yeah.***

He couldn’t read the defense

Our simplified game plan

He is a quitter

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Of course it was

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Re: Wow so it was all on the coaches that DJU sucked

Everything Jon Blau said in that first paragraph was 100%

Clemson football underachieved the last two years more than any Brownell Clemson team ever has.

Dabo, even on an "off" year, won the ACC Championship and

Bryce Young was good that we fell for his HS State Champ

in many ways Bryce Young was Alabamas Trevor

Can we all just please…

Can we all just please…

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