Second-year quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei is up next in our 90-in-90 series!
Let’s see what the outlook is for the Chargers’ QB3!
The Basics
Height: 6’4
Weight: 252 pounds
College: Clemson/Oregon State/Florida State
Experience: 1
Uiagalelei starred at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California where he wound up ranked as the No. 1 player in the country by PrepStar and the No. 2 player by Rivals.com. He was named a USA Today All-American and helped lead his team to the 7A State Championship. Following his senior
season, he was invited to play in that year’s Army All-American Game.
By the end of his high school career, Uiagalelei had thrown for 10,496 yards and 127 touchdowns to only 11 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,103 yards and 18 more scores.
After committing to Clemson, Uiagalelei sat behind eventual No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence for the 2020 season. That year, he still threw for 914 yards and five touchdowns while playing mainly in blowouts.
In Uiagalelei’s first season as a starter (13 games), he threw for 2,246 yards with nine touchdowns to 10 picks. He showed improvement as a second-year starter with 2,521 yards with 22 touchdowns to seven picks. However, those numbers weren’t good enough as he was eventually replaced as the starter and transferred to Oregon State.
During the 2023 season, Uiagalelei set a career high with 2,638 passing and threw 21 touchdowns to seven interceptions. Following what was his best seasons as a passer, he transferred once more to spend his final year of eligibility at Florida State.
Playing for the Seminoles seemed like an excellent opportunity for Uiagalelei to showcase just how much he’s learned over his college career, but that season ended up being a disaster for him. He started the first five games of the year but then suffered a season-ending injury which stopped him from putting together one final impression for scouts. His final stats in five games were 1,056 passing yards, four touchdowns, and six interceptions.
Uiagalelei ultimately went undrafted and was eventually signed by the Chargers following the 2025 draft.
The Good
Uiagalelei has the protypical frame and build that NFL scouts normally salivate over at the quarterback position. Guys like him at 6’4+ and over 250 pounds simply do not grow on trees.
His resume and pedigree from high school and into his early years at Clemson (in a backup role) showed a lot of promise and the Chargers are hoping there’s still some kind of spark left in there from those glory days.
The Bad
Something happened to Uiagalelei’s potential the moment he became a starting quarterback for Clemson. All the hype died down after his lone year starting where he threw for only 2,521 and 22 touchdowns (with seven interceptions). That stat line is “fine” if you’re just any other quarterback in college, but not the successor to Lawrence and a perennial powerhouse.
After Clemson essentially showed him the door, Uiagalelei bounced to two more schools in as many years. His stats never truly improved and his final year at Oregon State was abysmal. The level of downward trajectory that he showed from 2023 to 2024 was hard and fast which all but sealed his fate to go undrafted. Going from No. 1 quarterback in the nation to benched as a fifth-year senior is as scary as it sounds for scouts who wanted to see him finally take some kind of a leap.
2026 Outlook
Uiagalelei has a nearly zero percent chance of supplanting Trey Lance as the Chargers backup quarterback this season. He’ll get plenty of reps in the preseason with the expectation that Herbert will not play much, if at all, which will give the coaching staff a decent opportunity to see how he’s progressed from year one to year two. However, I expect him to land back on the practice squad for at least one more season before the Bolts decide whether or not he’s worth investing in for further years.
