Former Florida State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has had an eventful career in the league after going undrafted during the 2025 NFL Draft. Uiagalelei was signed by the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent but was waived in August despite a strong preseason, before being re-signed for the practice squad and finally getting a reserve/futures contract.
DJ Uiagalelei’s Father Reveals Toxic FSU Environment
During recent segment of the “Coach JB” podcast, the quarterback’s father, Big Dave Uiagalelei, spoke about the toxic environment that his son had to endure during his sole season in Tallahassee.
“DJ was receiving death threats, bomb threats,” Dave Uiagalelei said. “DJ couldn’t even go to a McDonald’s in Florida; they’ll spit in his food, stuff like that. At the end of the day, my son never wavered, he never complained to the coach, he never brought it up to the coaches that they were calling him all these names.
“He never wanted to inconvenience any coach or player, he just wanted to make sure that he was just a teammate supporting his team.”
Uiagalelei joined FSU from Oregon State and was one of the most hyped prospects in several preseason rankings in 2024.
He was tasked with replacing the immense influence of quarterback Jordan Travis, who had led the Seminoles to an unbeaten (13-0) regular season in 2023, before Florida State was controversially snubbed from the College Football Playoff.
In his sole season playing for beleaguered coach Mike Norvell, Uiagalelei went 84-of-156 for 1,065 passing yards, resulting in four touchdowns and six interceptions, before his Florida State career was cut short by an injury to his throwing hand after just four games.
Big Dave Uiagalelei further detailed the silver lining of his son’s difficult season under center for the Seminoles.
“On paper, Florida looked like it was the best situation,” Dave Uiagalelei said. “We all know what happened after that, going to Florida State. I’m glad my son faced all those trials and tribulations, it made DJ who he is today. Seeing him at the Chargers right now and just hearing all the coaches talking about DJ.
“‘DJ is the first one in there, last one in there, doing all the things that he needs to do to be a professional.’ Ain’t nothing gonna faze DJ right now because of everything he went through in college.”
Uiagalelei was a five-star talent and the No. 12-ranked prospect in the class of 2020 and he committed to coach Dabo Swinney’s high-flying Clemson Tigers. He joined the Oregon State Beavers after three seasons at Clemson and eventually joined FSU after one season.
The quarterback tallied 9,384 passing yards, 61 touchdowns and 30 interceptions, while adding 1,124 rushing yards and 21 scores during his college football career.
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