When Trevor Lawrence suffered an injury during the 2020 season, we saw another five-star quarterback step up to lead the Clemson Tigers in his absence.
Against the Boston College Eagles and Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Uiagalelei looked the part of the next top signal-caller to suit up for head coach Dabo Swinney. He completed 69 of 85 passes (81.2%) for 781 yards and 4 touchdowns. Uiagalelei added two more rushing touchdowns in that span.
However, in 2021 we saw the growing pains of a young quarterback, who finished with less than 60% of his passes being completed and he threw more interceptions than touchdowns. The following season was much better from a production standpoint but his struggles opened the door for five-star freshman Cade Klubnik to take over.
When the transfer portal’s first window opened on Dec. 5, Uiagalelei entered his name and committed to the [autotag]Oregon State Beavers[/autotag] by mid December. The former five-star signee from the 2020 class recently opened up about his decision to leave Clemson for the West Coast.
“I wanted to go somewhere where the scheme is going to fit me,” Uiagalelei said. “I wanted to go somewhere where they’re going to let me be who I am as a player, let me play free, and let me go out there and just cut it loose. Just somewhere where I can do what I wanted to do.”
The Beavers started Ben Gulbranson at quarterback last season but the numbers were pretty pedestrian. Still they were able to win 10 games, including a bowl victory over the Florida Gators. Most projections have Gulbranson backing up Uiagalelei this coming season.
It will be worth watching Oregon State this coming season to see if the change of scenery helped out Uiagalelei.
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