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- Feb 3, 2018
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Highlights:
-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.”
-What attracted him to Corvallis was the offense Jonathan Smith and offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren run. he committed without ever visiting the campus.
“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.”
-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,’” “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.’”
-Uiagalelei felt Swinney had lost confidence in him that went beyond that game (the loss to ND his sophomore year when Dabo pulled DJ for Klubnik). After driving the team from near the endzone to midfield, Sweeney pulled DJ for Klubnik. Klubnik promptly threw a pick and Clemson lost 35-14). Uiagalelei went on to say that he wasn't consulted on pulling DJ and Sweeney's reasoning was the team "needed a spark". 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.”
-Uiagalelei says that the environment and system at Oregon St. is great for QBs.
“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.”
DJ says the persepective he 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, offering a spot at a tryout. He appreciated the invitation but wasn’t tempted.
-He worked out recently with friends Bryce Young and CJ Stroud as they prepare for next week's NFL draft. At one time he believed he'd be right there with them but now he knows his time will come, his path is different.
There has been a three way competition for starting QB at Oregon state - DJ, returning QB Ben Gulbranson, and freshman Aidan Chiles. The expectation is no one will be named until early in fall camp.
