Nation's No. 1 QB details multi-day Clemson visit, commitment timeline

Uiagalelei is shown here during his visit to Clemson last November

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Mar 31, 2019, 8:01 AM

The nation’s No. 1 quarterback for the 2020 recruiting cycle will be on Clemson’s campus this week, and he’s not only bringing in a lot of his family, but he’s also making it a multi-day visit.

DJ Uiagalelei of Bellflower (CA) St. John Bosco is rated as the top signal caller and No. 6 overall player by 247 and is ranked as the No. 1 player in both categories by Rivals. Uiagalelei last visited Clemson for the Tigers’ rivalry win over South Carolina in late November, a visit he took with his dad and one of his coaches.

This week’s visit, wrapped around Clemson's spring game Saturday, will be longer in duration and will have someone extra special on hand.

“My mom and dad are coming with my brother. One of his coaches - Coach Frogger is coming. My uncle is coming, too,” Uiagalelei told TigerNet Saturday night. “I’m excited to bring my whole family out so we can really sit down and see everything there - look at the town, look at all of the facilities. We’ll be there for four or five days. We get in on Wednesday, and we leave Sunday.”

Uiagalelei says it’s important for his mother to see everything Clemson has to offer.

“She just wants to see the campus and the football stadium. She was to meet all of the coaches,” he said. “She wants to do all of the stuff besides football - check out the dorms, the town, where’s the nearest Walmart, where am I going to go to church. And, she wants to eat fried green tomatoes, that’s what she really wants to do. She’s looking forward to that.”

Clemson has been at or near the top of Uiagalelei’s list – along with Oregon – for a while now, and many have wondered if his mother signs off on Clemson if he commits this weekend.

“Most likely, I’ll probably make a decision in either May or June, that’s what it’s looking like right now,” he said. “I just feel like that’s the right timeframe for me. I’m going to go to Clemson, and then I’m going to go to Oregon on the 20th and then after those two, I’m going to make my decision.”

What keeps Oregon in the mix?

“I like the coaching staff there, and they show me a lot of love. I like them up there,” Uiagalelei said. “I like the offense. I like what they’re doing over there and how they’re changing it over there. It’s cool. I like it.”

What keeps Clemson in the mix?

“I like all of the coaches there. I like the atmosphere.,” Uiagalelei said. “They have a lot of what I’m looking for in a college atmosphere, and not just sports wise but different stuff outside of sports that I’m interested in.”

Several other high-profile recruits will be in town – including defensive end Bryan Bresee – and Uiagalelei says he can’t wait to see them.

“Definitely. I’ll be glad to see them because I haven’t seen them yet. I’ve been talking to Bryan and I know he’s going to be there,” he said. “I think there’s going to be a couple of other guys who will be there. I know E.J. Williams, the receiver from Alabama is going to be there.

“Paul (Tchio, offensive line commit) hits me up all the time. He’s cool. That’s my boy.”

Uiagalelei recently re-tweeted a picture of a moving truck with Clemson’s offensive line commits, and the caption says the next stop is California, the home of DJ Uiagalelei.

“The moving day picture, that picture is hard. They sent that to me, and I was like, ‘Dang, this picture is sick.’ I had to post that Twitter,” he said. “I had never seen anything like that. It was pretty cool.”