Transfer quarterback DJ Uiagalelei announces commitment to Oregon State
Former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei announced that he has committed to Oregon State after entering the transfer portal.
His pending arrival at Oregon State should add more intrigue to an already gifted rotation of quarterbacks in the Pac-12 for the 2023 football season.
Caleb Williams, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, is returning to USC, while Bo Nix has announced he will play for Oregon again next fall, and Michael Penix has confirmed he will start for Washington in the year to come.
Uiagalelei served as the starting quarterback at Clemson for the last two seasons before being pulled from the ACC Championship Game.
A former 5-star recruit and the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2020 college football recruiting class, according to 247Sports, the quarterback never quite lived up to its reputation once taking the field as starter.
Uiagalelei completed 55.6 percent of his pass attempts during his sophomore season, throwing nine touchdowns against 10 interceptions in 2021.
He improved marginally this past season, hitting 62.4 percent of his passes, adding 22 touchdowns and just seven interceptions, but there were hints that his production was falling off late in the season.
Uiagalelei had no touchdowns and two interceptions in a close win over Syracuse that saw his being benched and he hit just 8 of 29 throws in a loss to South Carolina.
He started 2 of 5 with two three-and-outs against North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game before Clemson pulled him again in favor of freshman Cade Klubnik.
Oregon State finished 10-3 this past season, earned a No. 14 position in the College Football Playoff rankings, was six combined points from finishing with just one loss, and defeated Florida, 30-3, in the Las Vegas Bowl.
College football transfer portal
The NCAA Transfer Portal is a private database that includes the names of student-athletes in every sport at the Division I, II, and III levels. The full list of names is not available to the public.
A player can enter their name into the transfer portal through their school's compliance office. Once a player gives written notification of their intent to transfer, the office puts the player's name into the database, and they officially become a transfer.
The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player's request and NCAA rules forbid anyone from refusing that request.
The database includes the player's name, contact information, info on whether the player was on scholarship, and if he is a graduate student.
Once a player's name appears in the transfer portal database, other schools are free to contact the player, who can change his mind at any point in the process and withdraw from the transfer portal.
Notably, once a player enters the portal, his school no longer has to honor the athletic scholarship it gave him. And if that player decides to leave the portal and return to his original school, the school doesn't have to give him another scholarship.
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