UCLA’s chances of landing D.J. Uiagalelei in portal have taken massive hit
By John Buhler
UCLA is probably not going to end up landing former Clemson starting quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei in the transfer portal now.
Once thought to be a fantastic fit in the transfer portal, do not count on former Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei heading back to his native Southern California to go play for UCLA.
With former Kent State quarterback Collin Schlee expected to transfer to UCLA with two years of eligibility remaining, it does not make a ton of sense for Uiagalelei to head home to Los Angeles. Furthermore, there are rumors circulating that five-star Oregon commit Dante Moore might flip to UCLA. Kenny Dillingham is taking over at Arizona State now and Bo Nix may not be turning pro.
With Schlee heading to UCLA and Moore possible going there as well, no DJ U for the Bruins then…
Sources: Kent State transfer QB Collin Schlee is expected to commit to UCLA. He threw for 13 TDs and 2,109 yards last season. He was also a mid-major hoops recruit out of high school. He'll have two years of eligibility remaining.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 17, 2022
Do not count on D.J. Uiagalelei transferring from Clemson over to UCLA now
With longtime Bruins starting quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson exhausting all of his eligibility after the Sun Bowl, Chip Kelly’s UCLA program will be making a change under center. Although Kelly has never been one to recruit at a high level wherever he is at, he is not afraid to use college football free agency to his advantage to get players who covet a change of scenery.
Although Kent State was not exactly a world beater over in the MAC, the Golden Flashes did have one of the better up-and-coming offensive minds in the country in their former head coach Sean Lewis. He left Kent State to become Deion Sanders’ offensive coordinator at Colorado, a move that shocked the college football world considerably. So it is no surprise that Schlee is leaving as well.
Ultimately, Uiagalelei’s stock took a massive hit over the last three seasons at Clemson. He was thought to be everything Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson were for Dabo Swinney before him. With Cade Klubnik having taken the job from him, it remains to be seen where Uiagalelei will land. He will want to play right away, but his most seamless landing spot is no longer that at UCLA.
One place that would make a great deal of sense would be at Virginia to reunite with Tony Elliott.
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