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DJ Uiagalelei excited to play at Doak Campbell Stadium, for FSU football in 2024
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- DJ Uiagalelei excited to play at Doak Campbell Stadium, for FSU football in 2024
DJ Uiagalelei is going to get to play a lot of games in his final collegiate season at his favorite venue.
After his transfer to Florida State football , he'll play at least seven games at Doak Campbell Stadium in 2024, his favorite football stadium.
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"Of all the places I've played at Oregon State and Clemson , this is my favorite away game I've ever played. When I played here in 2022, this place was rocking," Uiagalelei said.
"Seeing [the Warchant] live, seeing all the fans, it was amazing. Seeing the Seminole ride on the horse, it was crazy. I'm excited. Excited about the fanbase, excited about playing here. I'm just excited."
Uiagalelei played for ACC rival Clemson from 2020-22, throwing 36 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions in his Tiger career. Following his benched in favor of Cade Klubnik in the ACC Championship Game, he transferred out west to Oregon State.
But in that 2022 game in Tallahassee which left an impression on Uiagalelei, he put together one of his best statistical games with Clemson, finishing with 203 passing yards, three touchdown passes and a rushing TD. He completed 65% of his passes in the 34-26 win over FSU.
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Interestingly, that game left a major impression on him about the direction of the FSU program under then-third-year head coach Mike Norvell.
"I think coach Norvell has done an amazing job with the program since he's taken over. Each and every year, it's been a steady climb. They just get better and better and better," Uiagalelei said. "That's what I saw from the first time I played Florida State in 2021. It wasn't the best year but you could tell there was talent on the team, you could tell there was a coaching staff with belief in the players that the ship's gonna get turned around."
All roads lead back to Tallahassee
Last year, Uiagalelei transferred to Oregon State and played one season in the Pac-12, throwing for 2,638 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
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Following the season, he decided to enter the transfer portal when OSU head coach Jonathan Smith left for Michigan State.
In his third go-around in the recruitment process, Uiagalelei already knew where he wanted to go.
"For me going through the process again and being in the transfer portal, my eyes were set on one school. I wanted to be here at Florida State," Uiagalelei said.
"This is the spot I wanted to be and I'm just blessed and happy that coach Norvell and coach Tony Tokarz , everyone here on staff was excited to have me here and was able to let me be here, let me be a Seminole."
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Uiagalelei visited FSU for an official visit during the Dec. 15 weekend.
Having been through the entire process of recruitment multiple times, Uiagalelei wasn't looking to be wooed with the extracurricular.
"I don't need to see the facilities, I don't need to see the nutrition where we eat at. I've been through the fluff of recruiting," Uiagalelei said. "That stuff doesn't really matter to me anymore. For me, I don't really care what the facilities look like, all I just need is a football and that's about it, and some shoulder pads and a helmet, I'll be good to go.
"And a playbook."
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He started his visit on the same day now-Miami quarterback Cam Ward also made an official visit.
While Uiagalelei was hoping for one school, the Seminoles played the waiting game to see which QB was a better fit for the program.
Uiagalelei did not mind waiting.
"'Hey God, if this is where you want me to be at, like if Florida State's the school for me, then you'll show me the way, you'll open up that door for me' and he has," Uiagalelei said of his thought process during that wait. "God has opened up so many doors in my life.
"I talked about God's timing, yeah maybe I wanted it to happen a little earlier, maybe I wanted to be at Florida State a little faster, but you know what, things don't work out like that because it's always on God's timing and God's timing is always right. It's perfect timing."
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On New Year's Day, Uiagalelei announced his commitment to FSU. One day later, the Seminoles announced the signing. Uiagalelei has been on campus since January and is ready to get to work.
"I'm excited to have DJ join the Nole Family," Norvell said in a press release announcing the signing on Jan. 2. "He is a proven winner, and his record as a starting quarterback is impressive. He has showcased incredible leadership on the field, and how he treats people off the field is remarkable.
"DJ is an extremely hard worker who is excited to continue to develop in this system and be around the great playmakers we have here. DJ adds a great deal of experience, talent and play-making ability into a quarterback room that we are extremely excited about as we enter 2024. He has great size and ability, is incredibly accurate pushing the ball down the field and is one of the top quarterbacks in the country in big-play percentage."
Jordan Travis influence
Watching the success outgoing quarterback Jordan Travis had with Norvell played a large part in why Uiagalelei wanted to be paired with Norvell at FSU.
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"Once I met coach Norvell and I got to talk to him a lot more, got to talk ball with him, I knew this was the right spot. Even before that, I'd done my homework, I looked at the offense, looked at what they've done with Jordan Travis , how they used him out and developed him as a quarterback," Uiagalelei said.
"That was one thing I was looking for. I want to be able to get developed, to be able to continue to learn and I want to win football games."
Travis finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting last season despite missing the final two games of the regular season after suffering a horrific leg injury against North Alabama.
He finished the season completing 207-of-324 passes (64%) for 2,756 yards and 20 touchdowns. He also rushed for 176 yards on 73 carries and seven touchdowns.
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Uiagalelei talked to Travis ahead of his visit.
"I wanted to ask [Travis] a couple of questions about the program, how are those coaches? Off the field, how are they as men?," Uiagalelei said. "He had nothing but great things to say. When that comes from your starting quarterback for a couple of years now, that's all you need to hear.
"So when I heard that, it kind of proved all my points that I had thought about Coach Norvell and all the other coaches here. It kind of just solidified it. There was no one else I really needed to talk to."
"Grandad" of the quarterback room
Uiagalelei is already taking the leadership in a very young quarterback room. Brock Glenn , a sophomore has just two career starts. The other quarterback on scholarship is incoming freshman Luke Kromenhoek .
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Trever Jackson is a freshman walk-on, while redshirt sophomore Dylan McNamara and redshirt freshman Michael Grant are two other walk-on players.
Jackson said the younger players have gravitated to Uiagalelei, calling him the "grandad" of the quarterback room.
"He's very chill and very laid back, but he's super smart," Jackson said. "He knows the game of football. He's teaching me a lot of stuff that I can use in the future. I appreciate him as well."
Kromenhoek said at his first availability that he has a locker right next to Uiagalelei.
The freshman from Savannah, Georgia has not missed the opportunity to ask Uiagalelei questions. Even though he knows he can probably get annoying.
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"I'll be able to learn so much from DJ. He's an unbelievable competitor and he's very, very smart on the board with the plays, and the coverages," Kromenhoek said. "The coaches actually put us by each other in the locker rooms and my lockers right next to him. So, I felt I was really happy that they did that.
"I feel like I can learn a lot from him and kind of just be a sponge to him because he has so much knowledge to give me. But I'm thankful to be around DJ and just be able to learn from him."
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports), Instagram (tlhnolesports) and YouTube channel (NoleSportsTD).
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DJ Uiagalelei is excited to be FSU football QB under Mike Norvell
