Florida State QB DJ Uiagalelei Gives Up ACC Media Day Spot In Classy Gesture
Barring any sort of injury ahead of Florida State's season opener against Georgia Tech, all signs point to DJ Uiagalelei being under center as the starting quarterback for the Seminoles this season. He's also one of the more intriguing players in the country, as FSU will be the third different program Uiagalelei has played for since 2022. Based on those two facts alone, he's an obvious choice to represent FSU at ACC media days, but the signal-caller has a different plan in mind.
Uiagalelei released a statement on social media on Tuesday announcing that he won't be attending the event in Charlotte, and his reasoning behind the decision is about as selfless as it gets.
"I appreciate being viewed as one of the conference's top players heading into this season. However, I feel strongly that Florida State should be represented by players who were part of last year's ACC Championship team," his statement read in part.
"The players who helped put this program back on top of the ACC should have the opportunity to be recognized for their contributions. This team is more than its quarterback, and I'm excited for my teammates who will experience this fantastic event."
While it's easy to clown on Uiagalelei for leaving Clemson in 2022 after three seasons with the Tigers to play one season at Oregon State all to return to the ACC to play for a loaded Florida State team, it's hard to label this move as anything but classy.
Uiagalelei received plenty of praise from folks on social media after sharing his announcement:
Uiagalelei has plenty of pressure on his shoulders to try and lead the Seminoles to back-to-back ACC titles, but it certainly doesn't hurt to get on the right foot among fans before taking a single snap on the field.
The 23-year-old signal caller threw for a career-high 2,638 yards at Oregon State a year ago to go along with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions.