Former DJ Clemson QB Uiagalelei was reportedly expected to transfer to Oregon State

DJ Uiagalelei returns to the West Coast after three seasons at Clemson.

The former five-star recruit is expected to stick with Oregon State after entering the transfer gate, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. An announcement is reportedly expected in the next few days.

Uiagalelei entered the gate earlier this month after being pulled for fellow outstanding QB Cade Klubnik in the ACC Championship Game. After a stellar performance by Klopnik against UNC, the real freshman appears to be the future under center at Clemson, leaving Uiagalelei to look elsewhere for playing time.

At Oregon, Uiagalelei will join a program coming off its best season in over a decade. In their fifth season under head coach Jonathan Smith, the Beavers went 10-3, their first season with double-digit wins since 2006.

As for the program’s future at quarterback, Uiagalelei’s transfer says a lot about his ambiguity. Nolan had the chance to start at the start of the season, but an injury opened the door for freshman Ben Gulbranson to take over.

Gulbranson went 7-1 as a starter, though his overall stats didn’t exactly scream rising star: 1,455 passing yards, a 62.1 completion percentage, nine touchdowns, five interceptions and 7.5 yards per pass attempt. The two quarterbacks expected to return next year were three-star rookies Travis Throckmorton and Dom Montell, as well as four-star recruit Aidan Chiles.

Uiagalelei, a native of California, endows Oregon State with a quarterback with a roof not often seen at Corvallis, though his distance from that roof is why he’s headed out of Clemson. After a promising freshman season backing up Trevor Lawwrence, Uiagalelei has struggled to look like the future NFL player many predicted when he first joined Dabo Swinney’s program.

DJ Uiagalelei’s brother just committed to Oregon

If Uiagalelei does indeed start for Oregon State next season, that year’s Civil War will be brother against brother.

Uiagalelei’s brother, five-star defensive recruit Matayo Uiagalelei, Committed to Oregon just two days ago After a protracted recruiting battle. It’s unclear if the opportunity to drive his brother out helped or offended the Ducks, but it’s certainly possible now.

Uiagalelei’s arrival also gives the Pac-12 another great quarterback, along with USC’s Caleb Williams, Oregon’s Bo Nix, and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and UCLA’s Dante Moore, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, and Washington State’s Cameron Ward.