It has been a while — September 2018, to be exact — since we have had to think about someone other than Trevor Lawrence starting at quarterback for Clemson. That changed this week with news that Lawrence tested positive for the novel coronavirus and will miss at least one game. It’s time, then, to get to know D.J. Uiagalelei, who will start for the top-ranked Tigers against Boston College on Saturday at noon Eastern time in a game broadcast nationally by ABC.
The basics
Uiagalelei is a true freshman from Inland Empire, Calif., who played high school football for St. John Bosco, alma mater of former MLB star Nomar Garciaparra, 2008 AL rookie of the year Evan Longoria and former UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen. At the time he signed his letter-of-intent, Rivals.com had Uiagalelei as the nation’s second-ranked prep prospect behind defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (who, naturally, also signed with Clemson). USA Today named Uiagalelei its national high school player of the year when he was a junior in 2018 after he threw for 3,366 yards and 48 touchdowns.
This season, he has seen action in five games, mostly in mop-up duty, completing 12 of 19 passes for 102 yards. He rushed for two touchdowns against The Citadel on Sept. 19.
The story
Uiagalelei’s size (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) and athleticism probably come from his father, David, whom Bleacher Report listed at 394 pounds in a 2018 story. The man now known as “Big Dave” was called “The Halftime Show” in high school because of his intermission dunking exhibitions during his school’s basketball games (grades kept him off the team). Now a resource officer at his high school alma mater, David Uiagalelei previously spent 10 years as a bodyguard for entertainers such as Chris Brown, T-Pain and DJ Khaled.
First and foremost, our prayers going out to Trevor for a speedy rerecovery, he's the leader of the team and he's been a great mentor to DJ. All im going to say is this, I have Faith that my son is ready to step in and help his team win. What ever it takes https://t.co/NnuhRnExq8
— THE U BROTHERS (@DUiagalelei) October 30, 2020
Clemson’s new starting quarterback may soon be dwarfed by his younger brother, Matayo, a high school sophomore who already is listed at basically the same height and weight as his brother. 247 Sports ranks the defensive end as the 73rd-best prospect in the national high school class of 2023.
Like Lawrence, D.J. Uiagalelei is more of a pro-style pocket passer than a runner.
“He has generational arm talent,” Barton Simmons, director of scouting for 247Sports, said of Uiagalelei to Bleacher Report in 2018. “It’s certainly one of the strongest arms we’ve ever scouted.”
Uiagalelei also played baseball in high school and said in 2018 that he wanted to continue doing so in college, but last month he said he “most likely” will stick to football. His fastball was clocked at 95 mph in high school and he almost certainly would have been an MLB draft pick had football not been the focus.
How do you pronounce his name?
Uiagalelei’s last name is pronounced ooh-ee-AHN-guh-luh-lay, according to the Tigers’ game notes.
And who will back up Uiagalelei?
Uiagalelei missed Clemson’s game two weeks ago with a sore shoulder, so this could be a pertinent question. The third-string quarterback is Taisun Phommachanh, a redshirt freshman who has played sparingly for the Tigers. Out of high school in Connecticut, Phommachanh was the eighth-ranked pocket passer in the country by ESPN.
His last name is pronounced POO-muh-chahn.
