NFL Draft Profile: D.J. Uiagalelei, Quarterback, Clemson Tigers
#5
Pos: QB
Ht: 6036
Wt: 245
40: 4.81
DOB: 4/17/2001
Hometown: Inland Empire, CA
High School: Saint John Bosco
Eligibility: 2023
D.J. Uiagalelei
Clemson Tigers
One-Liners
The natural arm talent Uiagalelei possesses is hard to find but he struggles with many of the important other elements necessary to be an NFL quarterback.
Evaluation:
Off the hoof, Uiagalelei looks like an NFL player. He is well built, displays impressive play strength and he has a cannon for an arm. Uiagalelei is able to throw the ball downfield effortlessly. Uiagalelei can truly throw the ball from any position as far as any quarterback in college football. His size and arm strength are super enticing but outside of that, he doesn’t have many redeeming qualities. Uiagalelei is an extremely hesitant passer, who struggles to make decisions. He consistently threw late to open receivers because he would hesitate or double clutch before throwing. At no point did Uiagalelei look calm in or outside the pocket. It didn’t matter if there was pressure or not either, he had a nervous presence on the field. Uiagalelei also doesn’t know when to throw with touch. He would fire screens and short passes with too much velocity, leading to incomplete passes. No matter the throw, nothing was easy for Uiagalelei on the field. His accuracy was all over the place. Uiagalelei was bailed out by having really tall receivers but most of his throws were either in the dirt or too high. His ball placement was erratic and Uiagalelei didn’t hit receivers in the numbers or in stride. Uiagalelei’s mechanics need a tremendous amount of work too. He has a very long release that takes too long to develop. This allowed for cornerbacks to have time to recover and make plays that they shouldn’t have been able to. His throwing motion is over the top and because Uiagalelei has long arms, he could never get into a rhythm as a passer. His long motion, combined with very slow feet within the pocket, led to several sacks. A lot of times, Uiagalelei would stand still and not move his feet, essentially leaving himself in quicksand, which in turn made it difficult for him to avoid pressure. Right now, Uiagalelei isn’t close to being an NFL quarterback. He has a lot of work to do on the mental side of his game and he doesn’t know how to use his natural tools.
Grade:
UDFA Grade for 2023
Background:
D.J. Uiagalelei, from Inland Empire, California, is looking at a promising 2022 season for the Clemson Tigers. He started playing for Clemson in 2020 where he only threw one hundred seventeen passes for a little over nine hundred yards and only started two games. In 2021, he started all the games for Clemson and will look to improve for this upcoming season. Uiagalelei attended St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California and was ranked as one of the top prospects in the nation before picking Clemson where currently he is a Communications Major.
Quotes:
"Oh, man, I do love sweets. That was one thing I have to cut out to lose a lot of weight. I stopped eating desserts, sweets. Probably haven't ate one – I started eating one – I had to stop for, like, six months from January-to-June. I didn't have any sweets. That was a big part." -- Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei on being called 'Big Sweet Tooth'
