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One of the biggest questions for FSU in 2024 is whether it can repeat its success after replacing many of its top playmakers, particularly Jordan Travis. A big part of FSU’s return to prominence has been back-to-back seasons of exceptional play and leadership by a veteran signal-caller. However, with Jordan Travis off to the NFL, FSU was left with big shoes to fill.
When the dust settled at the end of the 2023 season, the Noles returned a promising young talent in Brock Glenn and had incoming 5-star freshman Luke Kromenhoek. Still, with only two guys left on the roster, FSU had to find some help. It’s a new era for the position in Tallahassee, but it’s one that I feel is set up for success. So, grab a cup of coffee or a cold beverage, and let’s dive in!
Mike Norvell worked his portal magic to land another experienced veteran to lead this offense in DJ Uiagalelei, who transferred in from Oregon State and formerly Clemson. DJ Uiagalelei is a name that is familiar to almost everyone around the college football landscape, and with that, there have been mixed reviews on the addition. It seems you either believe in him or you don’t. In fairness, as a top 250 recruit in the entire history of 247’s rankings, he has yet to fulfill the hype.
While I can admit that I’m not projecting DJ to win the Heisman, frankly, he doesn’t have to for FSU to win games. DJ can be what FSU needs at quarterback to help them win and I do project him to have his best season to close out his college career.
However, if he does that, and it leads to a successful season for FSU, it certainly would not be out of the realm of possibility. That brings us to the first and most important part of this conversation: expectations. Before we talk about DJU the player, I think it’s important to define what FSU actually needs from him.
We need to look at this in two parts. First, is being a mentor to the talented young quarterbacks behind him. DJ is a guy who brings a lot of experience, and while it’s not all been good, he has won some big games and played in big environments, which no amount of practice can replicate. Mike Norvell is a fan of that because with the good and bad comes humility. DJ is here to learn, work, and make those around him better. He saw what FSU did for Jordan Travis, hence why he said there was only one school he was targeting when he entered the portal. He knows this is his last chance to sell himself to NFL scouts.
FSU has a LOADED quarterback room, but it’s still young and those guys need some seasoning. DJU may be a bridge to the future, but he can provide much more than that on the field and in the locker room. Many lamented the failed McKenzie Milton experiment, but it has been said that he taught Jordan Travis a lot about being a quarterback off the field and I think DJU can do the same for Brock, Luke, and Trever. Here’s a short clip of what Mike Norvell had to say about what DJU brings to FSU and the mentorship we just talked about at the 2024 ACC Football Kickoff.
On the field, I think it is important to understand that DJ doesn’t need a Heisman-type season for FSU to win games. To be blunt, they need him to be good, not great, and not cost them games, although I’m positive the expectations are much higher for DJ and FSU. Will he be perfect? No. Will he make mistakes? Yes. Does he have a history of underperformance to overcome? You bet. However, I don’t think it’s fair to put DJ in a box and say, “This is what he is, and he can’t possibly get better.”
Remember a guy that a previous coaching staff wouldn’t let throw the ball, who ended up finishing fifth in Heisman voting? The same guy that, if not for a season-ending injury, probably gets invited to New York and leads his team to a national championship. The same guy who once wanted to quit football, but just got taken in the NFL Draft. Jordan didn’t peak until his fifth and sixth seasons, which serves as the perfect example that a guy can get better even late in his career.
With that said, back to the expectations. Mike Norvell has spent the past few years building a complete team in Tallahassee. That is why FSU beat Florida in the swamp and won an ACC title without its prolific quarterback. When we look at 2024, this team feels much better equipped to be less reliant on any one player.
We project them to have a strong running game, dominant defense, and good special teams. For DJ and FSU to be successful, he only needs to be part of that machine and lead them in the right direction. Sure, there may come a time when he has to put a game on his back and lead FSU to victory, but there are plenty of other playmakers here to help with the heavy lifting. The next segment will make it all make sense.
To paint the picture of why I say that DJ doesn’t need a Heisman type of season for FSU to win games, look no further than the Heisman winner vs. the national championship-winning quarterback from last year. JJ McCarthy was the quarterback of a Michigan team that went 15-0 and won the national championship. But how much of that success was due to McCarthy’s play? Michigan had a great defense (#1 in scoring defense) and a decently strong running game (#55 at 169 YPG). Sound familiar?
If we adjust for the bowl debacle, FSU would have finished T-7th in scoring defense allowing only 5.5 more PPG than Michigan. FSU’s running game last season had the worst per-game average since Norvell arrived at FSU, but still only trailed Michigan by 19 YPG. If FSU can improve on its ground game and have another solid year on defense, that will take a lot of pressure off DJ.
Being that DJ did not play in a bowl game last season, let’s use regular season numbers for comparison. Last year, McCarthy went 191/311 for 2,483 yards and 19 touchdowns. He added another 181 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground.
Side note: to help paint this picture. Throughout the entire season, McCarthy only threw for over 300 yards once and under 200 in seven games. He did not throw for a single touchdown in 5 games (including the national championship). That’s not exactly great quarterback play.
In 2023, DJ went 180/315 for 2,638 yards and 21 touchdowns and added another 219 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground. He threw for over 200 yards in 9 of 12 games (one of the three he did not, he only attempted 12 passes against an FCS team and another was at 198 yards). He also threw for at least one touchdown in 11 of 12 games. While DJ had a worse completion percentage and 3 more interceptions, he actually produced better numbers than the quarterback who won the national championship and got drafted in the first round!
Meanwhile, Jayden Daniels won the Heisman after accounting for over 5,000 all-purpose yards and 50 total touchdowns! Yet, LSU did not even make its conference title game after finishing third in the SEC West. Of course, prolific quarterback play is a game-changer for any team, but the previous example is why it is so important to consider the team that is built around them.
Regardless of how the 2022 season ended, DJ started the 12 games before the ACC championship. He led the Tigers to a 10-2 record and put them in a position to win the ACC title, which they did. In 2024, that’s good enough to get you into the playoffs. He was surrounded by a good team at Clemson, just like he will be in Tallahassee.
To go one step further, Jordan Travis led FSU to a 10-0 record before his injury. In 2023, Jordan had 371 all-purpose attempts (pass attempts + rush attempts) for 3,034 yards with 27 touchdowns and 6 total turnovers. DJU had 369 all-purpose attempts for 2,896 yards with 27 touchdowns and 9 total turnovers. If Jordan’s numbers were good enough to lead FSU to 10-0, then being able to carbon copy those numbers with a bigger and more durable player sounds like a recipe for success.
No, DJU isn’t Jordan Travis. Travis was an electric player who was extremely efficient. However, in the famous words of Jimbo Fisher, the play doesn’t care who makes it and the same goes for production. The numbers are the numbers no matter who is producing them. DJ may not be regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in college football, however, we see that he has produced similar numbers to one quarterback who won a national championship and another who got FSU to 10-0. Of course, there is room for improvement, but that is why I feel like DJU can be what FSU needs from a production standpoint.
So, why am I confident that DJU can be successful at FSU? Well, there are a few main reasons. First, is Mike Norvell and quarterbacks coach Tony Tokarz. As a player, DJ comes with some positives and negatives, but who doesn’t? He has great size that allows him to see over the defense. He has a big arm with big velocity that allows him to make just about any throw you want including the deep ball. He’s not as elusive when running as Jordan was, but his size makes him hard to bring down and he’s faster than you think when you watch his film.
On the flip side, he has a long slow throwing motion, and at times, poor footwork. Mike Norvell recently said in an interview on the ACC network that they don’t look to change much up high, but rather focus on the bottom half (footwork) and helping him to make reads quicker, so he can get the ball out faster.
Improvements to his footwork will help with his accuracy, which has always been the knock with DJ, and quicker reads will help negate the slower release. To a degree, he is what he is, I won’t argue that. However, sometimes small changes can lead to big improvements, and he has all the tools to be really good.
Surprisingly, for his pedigree out of high school, DJ has yet to throw for over 3,000 yards in a single season. Here is where things get interesting. Mike Norvell has been an offensive coordinator or head coach for 12 seasons, but we are going to exclude the covid year for statistical reasons because they only played 9 games.
In 10 of 11 seasons, Norvell’s teams have thrown for at least 3,000 yards. In every season that Norvell has had a single starter play the entire season (8), every one of those quarterbacks has broken the 3,000-yard mark with two eclipsing 4,000. Jordan Travis very likely would have made it 9 seasons had he not gotten injured. Also, with having one starter across an entire season, 5 quarterbacks have thrown for over 30 touchdowns and none less than 24. He’s not joking when he says it’s an offense built for playmakers!
So, it would appear something has to give. If DJ starts the entire season, either Norvell will fall short of the mark for the first time in his career, or DJU will break the 3,000-yard mark for the first time, in his career. Norvell’s career team average through the air is 438 ATT with a 62.7% completion percentage, 3,682 yards, and 30 touchdowns. He has only had one starting quarterback finish with a sub-60% completion percentage (59.9%), and he threw for 3,884 yards and 31 touchdowns that season. I could live with that type of year from DJ! Norvell’s impressive history with quarterbacks is enough to make me a believer that DJ is poised to have his best season yet, but that’s not the only reason.
His 2021 season was abysmal, I won’t ignore that. We’ve seen him have bad games throughout his career. However, DJU’s final season at Clemson wasn’t exactly terrible. He had a 62.1% completion percentage with 2,521 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions in 12 games. He added another 545 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground.
We’ve also seen him have stellar performances like the 2020 Notre Dame game where, as a true freshman, he put up 439 passing yards which is still the record for the most pass yards ever allowed by a Notre Dame defense. That was part of a two-game stretch where DJU put up 835 all-purpose yards and 6 total touchdowns!
In 2022, he shredded Wake Forest (admittedly a bad pass defense) for 371 yards and 5 passing touchdowns in a double-overtime victory. In that same season, DJ led Clemson to a 30-point beatdown of the Hurricanes after putting up 340 all-purpose yards and 3 total touchdowns. Most recently, he lit up Cal for 282 yards and 5 passing touchdowns while at Oregon State. So, for all the bad games people bring up (which is fair), we can also point to lots of good games knowing that quarterback lies within him, too.
When DJ transferred out of Clemson, he openly criticized their offense and how they failed to play to his strengths. However, DJU wasn’t the only one that had issues with Clemson’s offense around that time. I want to share a quick summary of a few comments made by those covering the Tigers at the time to show that, while he was a factor, the offensive struggles may not have all been on DJ.
(The Athletic) Predictable and stagnant – (Greenville Online) Stagnant, non-imaginative, and devoid of a downfield passing threat. – (Sports Illustrated) Lack of NFL OL production left them extremely reliant on QB and WR play. Noted how lucky they were to hit on Watson and Lawrance back-to-back. (SB Nation) Clemson was running substantially the same offense my high school ran in 2015. (Source Article)
It can be fair to say that maybe DJU was not great in an offense that was not very great itself. Dabo Swinney must have somewhat agreed because they made a change at offensive coordinator soon after. Clemson brought in Garrett Riley and handed the keys to Cade Klubnik, but the passing offense didn’t get much better if at all.
Meanwhile, DJU went to Oregon State and quietly had his best season. This could be brushed away with the fact that the pass defenses in the Pac-12 aren’t the caliber of what he faced in the ACC. At Oregon State, DJ only faced one top 25 passing defense and it was not a Power 5 team. He also faced 4 passing defenses that ranked outside the top 100. In 2022 while playing in the ACC, DJ faced 4 top 25 pass defenses and only 1 outside the top 100 (UNC, which he only played a few snaps against). So, the defenses were ranked higher in the ACC, but, one could also argue the passing offenses in the Pac 12 last year were better than the ACC, too (5 in the top 25 vs. 1). Either way, DJU did face those tougher defenses during his time at Clemson and we already established that his 2022 season was not that bad.
Oregon State put DJ in a more quarterback-friendly offense with a higher percentage of under-center snaps and play-action passes. Play action is a quarterback’s best friend. It delays the defense from immediately dropping into coverage as they diagnose whether it’s a run or pass play. This allows receivers to create space and separation, which on film, DJ is good at finding and hitting those receivers. It also allows teams to move the pocket, which opens quarterback runs and RPOs.
At Clemson in 2022, DJ ran play-action 28.8% of the time. At Oregon State, that percentage increased to 37.4% and his numbers were better with play action (62.5% vs. 53.6% – 11 TD/2 INT vs. 10 TD/5 INT). He also took 9 fewer sacks and had a much lower pressure-to-sack percentage with play action. When looking at Mike Norvell’s history, he has run play-action 34% of the time, so this aligns better with what DJ did at Oregon State. I fully expect to see a lot of under-center or pistol formations with heavy doses of play action this season.
While Oregon State was not devoid of talent during DJ’s time there, they are behind FSU and Clemson. In 2023, ORST had the 56th most talented roster according to the 247-talent composite. FSU was at 20th, and in 2022 DJ’s final year at Clemson, the Tigers were 5th. Looking at the receivers DJ had to work with, it was a productive group. However, from a raw talent perspective, every one of their top 3 receivers was ranked outside of the top 1,100 recruits nationally coming out of high school. Only their tight end was a top 1,000 recruit at 846. They also didn’t have much size with the tight end being the only pass catcher in the top 4 that was over 6 feet tall.
FSU has 9 receivers who could be in the rotation this season that stand over 6 feet and a starting tight end that is 6-foot-6. That size should help with contested catches, especially on deep balls. None of DJ’s top 4 targets had a contested catch rate above 50% last season. None of them surpassed a 63% reception rate, either. Of course, FSU’s receivers, while talented, have question marks of their own. Dropped passes have plagued the receiver group in Tallahassee for the past few seasons. However, if they can step up around DJ, that can be a dangerous combination.
The last area I want to cover is improvement throughout his career and where he excels and struggles from a statistical standpoint. DJ gets heavily criticized for accuracy issues and his sub-60% completion percentage last year was not the greatest. However, when you break the numbers down, there are areas where he excels and some reasoning behind the dropoff.
In 2023, his completion percentage on throws behind the line of scrimmage (BLOS) pulled his overall completion percentage down. These are the “easy” ones that are supposed to bring a QB’s percentage up. The further downfield you get the lower the completion percentage will be.
On BLOS throws in 2023, DJ only completed 76.7%, the lowest among Power 5 QBs with at least 25 BLOS passing attempts. However, Oregon State was Top 10 in dropped pass percentage (8.0%) on these same throws. At Clemson in 2022, DJ completed 91.8% of his BLOS throws with only a 3.7% drop percentage.
I suspect this has something to do with a guy who has a strong arm learning to take some juice off his short throws, which we’ve heard about in fall camp. However, the point is that we’ve seen him make these throws at a 92% clip in the past when there were fewer drops. For reference, Jordan completed 95.5% of BLOS throws in 2023, so if DJU can trend back to the 2022 numbers, that is where he needs to be.
His mid-range passing (10-19 yards) also comes into question. In 2022, while his completion percentage was only 48.1%, his touchdown to interception ratio was fine at 10/3. Comparatively, Jordan’s was 54.7% and 10/1, so DJ was not far off. In 2023, DJ’s mid-range completion percentage did improve to 55.9%, but the TD/INT got worse at 5/4.
There were at least two interceptions that I can tell you were tipped passes, but this will be an area of improvement to focus on. We need the completion percentage from 2023 with the TD/INT ratio from 2022. Again, though, the proof that he can make the throws is there.
Now, to focus on the areas where he excels. First, is short passing (0-9 yards) where his numbers are pretty good. In 2022, DJ’s completion percentage on short throws was 79.3% with a 4 to 1 TD/INT ratio. In 2023, the percentage dropped to 73.8%, but the TD/INT ratio improved to 7/0. Jordan’s best year for short passing was 2023 with a completion percentage of 76.7% and a TD/INT ratio of 4/0. As you can see, DJ’s numbers are in line with Jordan’s in the short passing game. This isn’t to compare who was better, but knowing the quarterback that Jordan was for FSU, gives us a good baseline to draw a comparison.
Finally, on deep passes of 20+ yards, this is where DJ’s big arm shines. In 2023, DJ had a 43.1% completion percentage and his Big Time Throw Rate (dropping it in a bucket on deep passes) was 27.7%. Comparatively Michael Penix at Washinton had a deep pass completion percentage of 43.6% and a BTTR of 27.6%. Carson Beck at Georgia was at 40.7% and 27.1% respectively. So, DJU is on par with some of the top quarterbacks as one of the better deep-ball throwers in college football. Combine that with the speed and size FSU has at receiver, and that’s a recipe for explosive plays.
One area in which DJ has struggled is pressured passing as most quarterbacks do. However, when kept clean, his numbers are quite impressive. In 2023, when DJ was not under pressure (62.6% of dropbacks) his completion percentage was 64.9% with 14 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. His numbers at Clemson in 2022 were very similar. If FSU can give DJ a clean pocket, he will likely surprise people as a passer. In 2023, FSU’s pass-blocking efficiency was T-18th in the country compared to Oregon State’s at T-35th.
Last season, DJ was ranked in the top 15 in the lowest percentage of QB-allowed pressures (pressure the QB is responsible for). His P2S% dropped significantly from 18.9% in 2022 to 8.7% in 2023, which was 7th best in the country. This led to a drop in sacks from 20 to 11 despite facing a higher percentage of pressure at Oregon State (37.4% vs. 25.7%). What that tells us is that DJ has gotten better at eliminating pressure from a quarterback’s perspective and avoiding sacks. He’s become more efficient in the pocket vs. trying to make things happen which can often turn into negative plays.
To close out DJU, I just want to highlight some of his progress as a starting QB from a numbers standpoint to show that he has gotten better and can continue to do so in 2024.
DJ Uiagalelei comes to FSU as a guy looking to close out his college career on a high note. He brings 40 Power 5 starts of experience with a 30-10 record in those 40 games. He’s certainly has had highs and lows throughout his career, but in my opinion, he is set up to have his best season yet with everything we just covered.
He has already shown the ability to pick up new offenses going from Clemson to Oregon State as well as Clemson changing OCs from 2021 to 2022 and getting better every year despite the changes. Norvell has already said that he has been impressed with DJ’s progression throughout camp and his ownership of the offense. How he performs in his final year remains to be seen, and what the others do around him will play a big part in that.
However, I’m a believer in what DJ can be when you look past the narrative that’s been written. Hopefully, if you’ve read this you feel the same way. I know this was long, but it was this kind of research that led me to predict Jordan Travis’ breakout season in 2022 and come within 150 yards and 4 touchdowns of the numbers I said that I’d like to see him produce.
Florida State’s projected “QB2” is a promising young talent that was thrown into the fire last year. However, as bad as things went, we saw glimpses of what is yet to come. First, we must acknowledge that Brock missed a significant portion of practice during the 2023 season with a hand injury and got little help from his receivers when thrust into duty. FSU had a 20+% dropped pass rate in both games that Brock started last year, and after watching the film, they were not all on the young quarterback. His BTTR climbed from 0% vs. Louisville to 7.7% vs. UGA. We saw a guy who was not scared to stand in the pocket and sling it, even if it meant taking a shot to do so.
Brock also missed time this spring, but his progression has been quite impressive. He has a big arm, moxie in the pocket, and a much better understanding of the offense. He has just not had the opportunity to get a lot of game experience having only 133 snaps under his belt, almost 2,500 less than DJ. That is why DJ makes a great bridge to the future by allowing Brock to get another season of experience. Brock also has an athletic ability with his legs that can be a real weapon for FSU. If the opportunity arises, due to what happened last season, I suspect we will see more of “QB2” in case he gets thrust into duty again.
Another positive is that I believe the gap between QB1 and QB2 is smaller than last year when comparing Tate to Jordan vs. Brock to DJ. If something were to happen, or even if DJ struggles, Brock is a more viable option to successfully lead this offense than Tate was. No offense to Tate, but he was Norvell’s first QB commit after Willie Taggart failed to sign a high school QB during his two-year tenure. The quarterback room in Tallahassee is ahead of where it has been in recent years from a talent and depth standpoint. Brock is good enough to legitimately push DJ to get better and hold onto that starting spot. He will have opportunities to play this year, and I’m excited to see his progression in a game situation.
Behind the top two are a pair of talented freshmen quarterbacks. Luke Kromenhoek came in as a 5-star with a big arm and has been on campus since the end of last season. The extra time will help his development going into the 2024 season, but as we saw last year, turning to a true freshman (even a talented one) is not ideal. Luke has shown the ability to make the throws, it’s just a matter of grasping the offense and getting used to the speed of the college game. FSU doesn’t have a lot of easy games on the schedule this year and they still need to get Brock as many snaps as possible. However, if FSU can blow a few games open, I’m sure we’ll see Luke take a few snaps.
The same can be said of Trever Jackson, who was a late but big addition to this room. We saw him as the starter opposite of DJU in the spring game after Brock and Luke were sidelined with injuries. Jackson performed well in the Elite 11 and has a dynamic skillset. He’ll need some time to develop, but the battle for the starting spot next season is going to be something to see with all this talent.
That will do it for our quarterback position preview. With the mixed opinions that surround DJ, I felt it was ok to run a little longer on this one to build confidence going into the season. Again, DJ is not perfect, if you expect him to be you will be disappointed. But he is an experienced veteran with a high ceiling and a relatively high floor, too. We have plenty of film to know what he is capable of, and if Mike Norvell thought he was worth bringing in and handing the keys to this offense, then we should trust him given his history with quarterbacks, particularly Jordan Travis.
DJ will provide an experienced player on the field and mentor in the locker room. He has already displayed multiple examples of leadership during his short time here. I’m excited to see how he performs this season and expect him to quiet many of his doubters. I’m also excited to see the progression of those behind him. Stay connected with Plant The Spear, your source for authentic FSU coverage. Thanks, and Go Noles!
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