The transfer portal officially opened on Monday. While Auburn did not take as big of a hit as many programs did, they are in the hunt to boost several key areas.
One of those positions is quarterback. [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag], who missed the 2022 season due to a shoulder injury, has announced that he will enter the transfer portal. His departure leaves Auburn with three scholarship quarterbacks, which could decrease even more if [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] elects to enter the portal, as rumors suggest.
There are several strong options in the portal, including NC State’s Devin Leary and Western Kentucky’s Austin Reed. However, there is one transfer candidate that ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg feels is a good fit for the Tigers.
After recent struggles at Clemson, quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei has elected to get a fresh start elsewhere. Rittenberg explains why he and Auburn could pair well together.
Uiagalelei visited the Plains during his recruitment back in 2018, and might consider returning there to suit up for Tigers coach Hugh Freeze. Auburn certainly needs more competition at quarterback, and Freeze runs a QB-friendly offense and typically stacks up talented wide receivers. Freeze’s work in transforming Malik Willis, who struggled at Auburn before transferring to Liberty, likely will appeal to Uiagalelei and his camp.
He would get a chance to play in the SEC and develop his game against top defenders. Clemson and Auburn also have many similarities, so the environment wouldn’t be a big adjustment for Uiagalelei. Auburn should regain Robby Ashford, who showed some promise this season, and added an ESPN 300 recruit earlier this year in Holden Geriner. But there’s not much depth in the quarterback room.
Uiagalelei enrolled at Clemson as the No. 1 quarterback from the 2020 recruiting cycle from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California. He was expected to live up to the expectations of former Clemson quarterbacks Tahj Boyd, Deshaun Watson, and Trevor Lawrence. He appeared to be on his way to doing just that when he passed for 439 yards and two touchdowns in relief of Lawrence during a losing effort to Notre Dame in 2020.
However, his Clemson career did not pan out as he intended. He took over the starting job in 2021, where he threw for 2,246 yards, nine touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He improved in 2022 by tossing 22 touchdown passes to just seven interceptions, but a struggling performance against South Carolina, where he completed just 8-of-29 passes for 99 yards, was enough for head coach Dabo Swinney to bench Uiagalelei for freshman Cade Klubnik. Klubik would start the ACC Championship Game against North Carolina, thus closing the book on Uiagalelei’s career at Clemson.
Florida, Oregon, and Notre Dame are among other programs that Rittenberg believes Uiagalelei could be a great fit for.
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