New Florida State QB DJ Uiagalelei has surprising Clemson take

Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has taken an interesting path to become the presumed starting quarterback for the Florida State Seminoles in 2024.

A former five-star recruit, Uiagalelei was ranked as the No. 1 overall quarterback in the 2020 class. He committed to Clemson out of high school and had a three-year run with the Tigers, which included two seasons as a starter. He transferred to Oregon State after graduating from Clemson and spent 2023 with the Beavers.

When former Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith was poached by Michigan State, Uiagalelei hit the transfer portal once again and landed at FSU – where he'll face Clemson on Oct. 5th, 2024.

Though it will be a home game for Florida State, Uiagalelei did recently tell On3 that it's going to be strange to face his old university.

“I think yeah, because that was somewhere I played at,” Uiagalelei told Andy Staples when asked if it will be weird to play Clemson. “That was my first place I played at. That’s the place I graduated from. A lot of my friends are still on the team, a lot of coaches I still know.”

Though there will be some funny feelings, Uiagalelei did admit that he still has love for what the Tigers did for him.

“I still have a lot of love for Clemson,” Uiagalelei said. “Granted, my journey ended up taking me somewhere else, but I loved my time at Clemson. Coach [Dabo] Swinney is an amazing coach, all the guys they were great and every single staff member there was great. I loved it."

Uiagalelei said some of his best friends play for Clemson, but one has to imagine those friendships will be strained come early October when the Tigers take on the Seminoles and their new quarterback.