Wow! That’s the immediate reaction to the report Friday night that D.J. Uiagalelei will transfer to Oregon State from Clemson.
It was apparent on the night of the ACC Championship Game — when Clemson backup quarterback Cade Klubnik replaced Uiagalelei and played beautifully in a blowout Clemson win — that Uiagalelei’s time at Clemson was up. Klubnik was going to get to start in the Orange Bowl against Tennessee and become the QB1 heading into the offseason.
Uiagalelei had a case of the throwing yips for much of 2021. He was better in 2022, but not good enough to lead Clemson to the College Football Playoff. A poor performance against South Carolina led to a shocking home-field loss which knocked the Tigers out of the race for a playoff berth. His first pass of the North Carolina game was a simple seven-yard out route, but the ball nosedived and fell incomplete, well short of an open receiver. Uiagalelei didn’t stay in the game much longer. Klubnik excelled, and that was that.
There’s a lot to unpack now that Uiagalelei is reportedly about to transfer to Oregon State. Let’s go through the main storylines: