DJ Uiagalelei turns Clemson’s orange and purple into Oregon’s orange and black. Wiagalerai promised to join the Beavers through the transfer portal for the 2023 season after his Tigers career didn’t live up to expectations on Saturday.
A five-star prospect in the 2020 class, Wiagalerei was off the bench for Cade Krabnik in Clemson’s win over North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game. He entered the transfer portal two days later. This was after Wiagalerei was pulled for many games during the season as Clemson’s offense struggled to find footing consistently.
There has been speculation that Wiagalerai will move to UCLA, Washington, or Oregon later in the season, but Washington and Oregon will have Michael Pennix Jr. and Beau Nix back in 2023, and Kent State’s Colin Schley to UCLA. moved to There was even speculation that Uiagarelai would eventually go to Hawaii.
Instead, this is another Pac-12 program designed to help the former five-star prospect reach his full potential. Huiagarelai’s decision comes a few days after his brother, his 2023 EDGE Matayo in his 5 Stars, his Huiagarelai. Committed to rival Oregon National Signature Day.
Best move for all involved
Wiagalerei, who is 10th in the 2020 class, was expected to be Clemson’s next superstar QB, following in the footsteps of Deshawn Watson and Trevor Lawrence. He didn’t live up to the hype. As a starter in his 2nd season with the Tigers, DJU struggled to find consistency as a passer. He finished his 2021 season with more interceptions (10) than he passed his touchdowns (9), completing only 59.8% of his 6.6-yard passes on his one attempt. I was. He rebounded with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2022, but speculation that he could be replaced by Krabnik in 2023 seemed to weigh heavily on him in the second half of the season. He made only 10 of 34 attempts in his last two games.
Now, Uiagalelei will make a fresh start in the Pac-12 with Bieber. He ended up playing in the same state as another transferring quarterback and needed a fresh start in the West, finding Auburn’s Bo in his Knicks. Meanwhile, Clemson can move to Krabnik. Many Clemson fans will argue that they waited too long for Dubbo Swinney to make the move, and even with Wiagalerai’s return in 2023, he’s still a starter and the Tigers are in danger of losing Clubnik to the transfer portal. was injuring
DJU is an Oregon upgrade
Wiagalerai is unlikely to live up to the hype around him after high school, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a talented player. Now he’ll be playing offense under Jonathan Smith. Although Wiagalerei himself did Clemson no favors, he was also responsible for the Tigers’ plans.
At Oregon State, Uiagalelei joined a 10-3 team this season, but lost starting QB Chance Nolan to injury in five games of the season. Ben Galbranson appeared as Nolan’s replacement. He put in a great performance, but he couldn’t make the difference that Huiagalelei did.
Pac-12 is deep in the QB league
Now many people, myself included, are saying the same thing about the 2022 ACC, and we’ve seen how it works for Wiagalerei, Clemson, and the conference as a whole. , Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams will return next season. Nix is back in Oregon and Penix is in Washington. Schley isn’t a household name, but he made big numbers at Kent State University. The Bruins also have Dante Moore his five-star freshman coming to Brentwood.
With Wiagalerai in the mix, Washington State’s Cam Ward, Arizona’s Jayden De Lola, Arizona’s Drew Pine and Colorado’s Shedour Sanders, the Pac-12 has considerable QB depth. It looks like