With DJ and Big Dave, on Civil War Friday and the future
Dave Uiagalelei says NIL deals will matter in DJ’s decision about next year. “It plays a big-time role with these athletes,” DJ’s father says. (Courtesy Karl Masdaam/OSU sports communications)
Updated 11/22/2023 10:30 AM
DJ Uiagalelei sounds as if he is prepared to play his first Civil War game.
“I feel good about our chances,” the 6-4, 250-pound Uiagalelei said Tuesday via phone from Corvallis. “We have a great team here. We have a solid game plan. Oregon does a lot of good stuff on the defense, so it’s going to be a challenge. But we’ll be ready.”
His father sounds ready, too.
DJ, Dave and Matayo Uiagalelei at Autzen Stadium after the Oregon-Washington State game, after which Matayo won Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors (courtesy Dave Uiagalelei)
“Big Dave” Uiagalelei has two sons playing in Friday night’s FOX matchup at Autzen Stadium between 15th-ranked Oregon State (8-3 overall, 5-3 in Pac-12 play) and No. 6 Oregon (10-1, 7-1). DJ is a redshirt junior quarterback for the Beavers; Matayo is a true freshman defensive end for the Ducks.
“I’m excited for both of them,” said the senior Uiagalelei via phone from Salt Lake City, where he is doing work for his company, NILSports.com. “I’m grateful for all the work they have done to put themselves in a position like this to play each other.
“Parents would think, ‘Which side am I going to pick?’ I root for both of my sons. That’s the Polynesian way. For me, we have won already. However the game turns out, we have won. I love both teams the same.”
My goal was to do interviews with both of the players as well as their father. Oregon was not cooperating.
“We do not make true freshman (sic) available for interviews, per program policy,” a sports communications rep conveyed to me in an email.
So this article will be lighter than preferred on Matayo, who came to Oregon as the No. 19 player in the country in the 2023 recruiting class as ranked by Sports Illustrated. The 6-5, 265-pound 18-year-old wunderkind has already made his mark with the Ducks, earning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors for his play in a victory over Washington State on Oct. 21.
The brothers are the only offspring of parents Dave and Tausha Uiagalelei, though technically that’s not the case. Over the years, Tausha served as surrogate mother for six babies born to other families.
“My mom is a warrior,” DJ says. “To see her do that for people — to give them a chance to have a baby — that’s like a superwoman. She is a hero to a lot of families. I got to be around it four or five times and meet the families. It was special.”
Matayo is three years younger than DJ.
“We are super close,” DJ said. “He is my best friend. Love that dude.”
On “X,” Dave wrote this about the brothers’ upcoming first meeting on the gridiron:
“This is pretty cool. I’ve never seen my boys go up against each other like this. I think it’s hilarious that Matayo has the opportunity to sack his brother. I myself can’t see it because of how close my sons are. Matayo literally looks up to his brother, and DJ is very protective of his young sibling … definitely wishing both the best in their game.”
DJ, Dave and Matayo Uiagalelei, when the boys were nine and six (courtesy Dave Uiagalelei)
Said DJ about Friday’s matchup: “It’ll be crazy. I’ve never played against my brother except one-on-one basketball at the house. It means a lot to my family to have two boys playing against each other. It’ll be pretty cool to have him across the line.”
Some of the social media followers of “Big Dave” — a former tackle at Mt. San Antonio (Calif.) JC who stands 6-4, weighs about 350 and was once a bodyguard for the likes of Chris Brown and Rihanna, among others — are dying to know what he will wear Friday night at Autzen. One of those “half-Beaver, half-Duck” shirts, perhaps?
“I had a split jersey made,” he told me, “but I don’t like the way it came out. I am just going to be neutral. I will dress in black.”
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Oregon ranks second in the Pac-12 in total defense and scoring defense, yielding an average of 310 yards and 16.7 points a game. The Ducks lead the league in pass defense and pass defense efficiency.
“They do a lot of great stuff on defense,” DJ Uiagalelei says. “They mix in a lot of coverages, a lot of blitzes. They do a great job of being where they need to be at all times. They have great talent from the secondary to linebacker to the D-line. A great head coach (Dan Lanning) and a great defensive coordinator in Tosh Lupoi.”
Uiagalelei’s counterpart at Oregon, Bo Nix, is one of the nation’s premier quarterbacks and a Heisman Trophy candidate. The senior QB ranks fourth nationally in passing yardage (3,539) and second in pass efficiency behind only LSU’s Jayden Daniels. The transfer from Auburn has thrown for 35 touchdowns with only two interceptions for the Ducks.
“He has had an unbelievable season so far,” Uiagalelei said. “I’ve been to a couple of games this season and watched him play in person. He takes what’s given to him and is making some great throws.”
Uiagalelei said he has met Nix twice — once while he was at Clemson and Nix was at Auburn, the other time this season.
“What I hear from my brother and from others at Oregon is he is a great guy,” DJ said. “I know his faith means a lot to him. I admire that about him along with the way he plays the game of football.”
DJ has a connection to Oregon beyond his brother. Out of St. John Bosco High in Bellflower, Calif., he narrowed his college choices to Oregon and Clemson before choosing the Tigers. As a youth, he followed the careers of Jeremiah Masoli and Marcus Mariota with the Ducks.
“Me being Polynesian and a Samoan guy, those two were my idols,” Uiagalelei said. “I looked up to them.”
In December 2022, Uiagalelei announced his decision to transfer from Clemson after his third year there. Two weeks later, Nix announced he would return to Oregon for his senior season. Did DJ ever consider a transfer to the Ducks?
“They had Bo coming back, so it wasn’t really a factor,” DJ said. “I was just trying to find the best spot for me. I found my home here at Oregon State. It’s been a blessing. I love it here. I made the best decision ever to be a Beaver.”
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Uiagalelei was on the radar of college scouts by the time he was 13. He was legendary at St. John Bosco.
As a junior, DJ threw for 3,366 yards and 48 TDs, completing 77 percent of his passes: The Knights went 13-1 and won the state championship and a No. 3 national ranking. DJ was USA Today’s High School Offensive Player of the Year. As a senior, he threw for 4,225 yards and 48 TDs, guiding the Knights to another state title and the No. 1 national ranking by MaxPreps. DJ was rated the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the country and as the 10th-best player in the class of 2020 by 247 Sports.
And by the way, as a pitcher with a 95-mph fastball, he had major interest from baseball scouts. The Los Angeles Dodgers took a flier on him this past July, selecting him in the 20th round of the MLB draft. DJ didn’t give it any thought.
“I love football, man,” he said. “I love what I’m doing here now. It’s all football for me right now.”
Uiagalelei apprenticed under Heisman Trophy runner-up Trevor Lawrence as a freshman at Clemson in 2020. When Lawrence was not allowed to play for two games because of a positive Covid test, DJ quarterbacked them to a win over Boston College, then passed for 439 yards in a 47-40 loss to No. 4-ranked Notre Dame at South Bend, Ind.
With Lawrence off to the NFL, the starting job was DJ’s as a sophomore in 2021. His name was big enough that, in the first year of NIL opportunities, he became the first college athlete to be featured on a TV commercial. His agency, VaynerSports, lined him up with Dr. Pepper, which used him as part of its “Fansville” commercial series.
“That was unbelievable,” DJ said. “I’m thankful to be the first athlete to be on a commercial like that. Hats off to Vayner and all my homies there. It’s something I’ll always remember.”
Over the next year, Vayner also secured NIL deals for him with the Bojangles restaurant chain, NFT platform Candy Digital and Beats Electronics. All good in the new college sports world of play for pay.
(As part of his NIL deal with Beats — valued at $417,000 — Uiagalelei gave each of his Clemson teammates a pair of Beats by Dre headphones in 2022. He did the same thing at Oregon State during fall camp.
(“That was probably my favorite one, to be able to share the wealth,” said DJ, who also has a deal with Wahl Clippers haircut brand. “That’s something that means a lot to your teammates. Those are the NIL deals that mean the most.”)
On the field, though, it wasn’t all peaches and cream for Uiagalelei at Clemson. He had a sub-par sophomore season, throwing for 2,246 yards, completing only 55.6 percent of his passes, with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Tigers, who had reached the CFP championship game two years earlier, started 4-3. They won their final six games to finish 10-3 and 14th in the nation, but there was grumbling about the quarterback play.
Uiagalelei was better as a junior in 2022, completing 62 percent of his passes for 2,521 yards, with 22 TDs and seven picks. He also rushed for 545 yards and seven scores. But he fell out of favor with the coaching staff late in the season and barely played against North Carolina in the ACC championship game as freshman Cade Klubnik took over. Then DJ sat on the bench as the Tigers fell to Tennessee in the Orange Bowl.
It was time for a change. A West Coast kid, Uiagalelei found a college close to home that met his needs. Hello, Oregon State.
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Uiagalelei won the starting job over incumbent Ben Gulbranson and true freshman Aidan Chiles — like he was going to lose? — and has had a successful season. DJ ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in passing yards average (219.8), total offense (238.5) and pass efficiency, having completed 161 of 280 attempts (57.5 percent) for 2,418 yards with 20 TDs and six interceptions.
DJ’s father rises to his son’s defense at criticism levied at him, mostly for his play at Clemson.
“During his three years as a starter, he has thrown for 8,000 yards (actually 7,185 going into the Civil War game),” Dave said. “To think anything less than he had a good year (as a junior), you’re talking nonsense.”
Uiagalelei has been a winner. His two years starting at Clemson, the Tigers went 21-6. The Beavers are 8-3, giving him a career mark of 29-9.
“At Clemson, the expectations are you gotta win the national championship,” Dave said. “When we came to Oregon State, they didn’t put that pressure on my son. They provided a place where DJ could get developed. The pro-style offense is the same they run in the NFL. That catered toward DJ’s skills. That’s the reason why he found a whole lot of success this year.
“Granted, we lost to Washington — we should have beaten them. For me, though, DJ has left it all out there this season. As a father, that’s all you can ask of your kid. Win or lose, it’s how you go about doing it, and he gave it his all. I’m so proud of him. A lot of scouts and recruiters tell me they love my son’s character. He’s a great kid.”
“Big Dave” said he is grateful for the coaching his son has received at Oregon State.
DJ Uiagalelei says he has “found a lot of peace since I’ve been at Oregon State, being a Beaver.” (Courtesy Karl Masdaam/OSU sports communications)
“It’s been amazing,” he said. “I consult for a ton of five-star quarterbacks and their parents. I tell them straight up, it’s not about going to big-name schools. You need to go to somewhere where they develop you and get you ready for the next level.”
Does that happen at Oregon State?
“Yes — 100 percent,” Dave said. “It’s not just (head coach) Jonathan Smith or (offensive coordinator) Brian Lindgren. It’s also the defensive coordinator (Trent Bray), the DBs coach (Blue Adams). They sat down with DJ many times and talked about coverages and reading defenses. It’s amazing what he learned this whole year. Oregon State got my son ready for the league.”
Which brings up an important question to the denizens of Beaver Nation: Is DJ going to the league? Will he return for his senior season in Corvallis next year?
After the Washington game, he told the media he was going to make a decision after the season. He reiterated that to me Tuesday. I asked him why he ran out for introductions with the seniors at Reser before the Huskies game.
“I’m a senior,” he said. “I’ve graduated. I’m a junior in eligibility, but I don’t know what I’m doing after this year — if I am coming back or if I’m going. I know that if I decide to leave, I didn’t want to miss Senior Day. My girlfriend wanted me to do it. I felt the same way.”
I asked explicitly: Is there a chance he will be back in a Beaver uniform next season?
“I think so,” he said. “There’s a chance. I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do. After (the Civil War) game, I’ll talk to my family, to people I know, to help me out with a decision like that.”
“Big Dave” might be the person DJ will consult with most. His father knows and understands the NIL scene well. He was candid with me about his son’s options.
“DJ has another year to play if he wants to,” Dave said. “He has to figure out if he wants to go out in the (NFL) draft. I’m told he would definitely get drafted.
“He can come back to Oregon State. That’s something he has. He could transfer, too. There might be schools that want to offer him seven figures. He could come back and still make money like an NFL player. That’s the other thing he has to think about.”
So in that case, is Oregon State out of the picture?
“It depends on if Oregon State can offer something to him to (entice him to) stay,” Dave said. “I just know how it goes in the NIL. It plays a big-time role with these athletes. The transfer portal today is college sport’s free agency. No school is safe from losing a player. When a school comes knocking on the door offering you $150,000, $250,000, $350,000 — it’s not about loyalty to the school, it’s about loyalty to the family.
“I’m not saying DJ is going to do that. I’m just saying there’s going to be a lot of movement in the portal game. So that’s an option for DJ.
“I want him to stay at Oregon State. I don’t want him to leave. I don’t know what better place you could go. I encourage a lot of quarterbacks to go to a school where you’re going to get developed. It has allowed him to work on his struggles, to not have that pressure on his back or worrying about every throw. What a great thing it is to have an O-line like the one he has to back him up. All he has had to do is manage the game, be able to make the right reads. He has his confidence back. It’s been good to see.”
For sure, DJ Uiagalelei has two more games to play at the college level, at Oregon State. He has been an engaging personality, popular with the media, with the fans and, it would seem, with his teammates.
“It’s been nothing short of an amazing experience for me,” he told me. “It’s been refreshing. I’ve found a lot of peace since I’ve been at Oregon State, being a Beaver. The people I’ve met, my teammates, the relationships I’ve built here … there’s a lot of love involved. I’ll always love this place.”
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