As the Oregon State Beavers get set to open the season against San Jose State on September 3, we now know who they will be starting under center.
Junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei will be starting for the Beavers, according to a report from The Oregonian’s Nick Daschel.
DJ Uiagalelei will be Oregon State's starting quarterback for the 2023 season.https://t.co/9v4UQVJJCc
— Nick Daschel (@nickdaschel) August 22, 2023
A former five-star recruit, Uiagalelei transferred to Oregon State from Clemson over the offseason. Uiagalelei had a promising start to his career at Clemson, filling in for Trevor Lawrence in the two games Lawrence missed with COVID in the 2020 season. He threw for 914 yards and five touchdowns in the two games, a comeback win over Boston College and an overtime loss to Notre Dame.
After Lawrence left for the NFL, Uiagalelei was named the starter for the Tigers for the 2021 season but struggled to find his way as a passer, finishing the year with just over 2,000 passing yards and throwing nine touchdowns along with 10 interceptions.
He recovered in the 2022 season, throwing for 2,521 yards and 22 touchdowns, but was benched in the ACC Championship game against North Carolina and decided to transfer shortly after.
Uiagalelei is from California originally, so perhaps a return to the west coast could help him regain the flashes of brilliance that made him a five-star recruit in the first place.
Social media had plenty to say about Oregon State’s decision to start Uiagalelei.
OS-DJ-U
LETS GO!#BeaverNation #GoBeavs https://t.co/I03MnJwbn1
— Kyle Van Cleave (@kylevc) August 22, 2023
Hope he has a great season https://t.co/WpPTm03z2z
— Michelle 🐅 (@cutigerbelle) August 22, 2023
DJ time is upon us. https://t.co/4eoCjKePmf
— husein (@husninino) August 22, 2023
Per an Oregon State source, DJ Uiagalelei will be the Beavers' QB1… #GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/i5fmkF4b1Z
— Brenden Slaughter (@b_slaught) August 22, 2023
This is the year. DJ Uiagalelei has improved so much under his new conference. He’s focused. He’s having fun. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a dark horse for the Heisman https://t.co/iNLdw7MKsE
— Wyatt Fulton (@FultonW_) August 22, 2023
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