A poor 2021 season has positioned Clemson’s DJ Uiagalelei as one of the worst quarterbacks in the ACC this year, at least according to one national writer’s rankings.
Cam Mellor, the senior director of college football and the NFL Draft at Pro Football Network, ranked Uiagalelei No. 111 out of 131 starting quarterbacks in the FBS.
Among starting ACC quarterback situations, only UNC’s Jacolby Criswell-Drake Maye battle (No. 121) and Duke’s Riley Leonard-Jordan Moore battle (No. 122) ranked lower than Uiagalelei on Mellor’s annual list.
The list, released Monday, is based on extensive film review as well as data points including “injury history, head coach or offensive coordinator changes, roster turnover, and general quarterback mechanics all over the field,” per PFN.
In his analysis, Mellor cited Uiagalelei’s ACC-worst 6.0 yards per pass attempt and 9:10 touchdown-interception ratio as 2021 low points, as well as “the fact that he failed to excel even at times against far inferior defenses across from him.”
Uiagalelei, a former five-star 2020 recruit from California, completed 55.6% of his passes for 2,246 yards in 13 games last year. Clemson, the No. 3 team in AP preseason Top 25, went 10-3 (6-2 ACC) and won the Cheez-It Bowl in 2021.
“It’s very clear that the talent is there both from an arm strength and athleticism standpoint, but the intangibles lacked in 2021,” Mellor wrote of Uiagalelei.
Continued Mellor: “He was slow to react and even slower to deliver. Defenses moved much faster than he did and the clock will be ticking on whether or not he can rebound for Clemson with highly touted (five-star) Cade Klubnik in the wings.”
Uiagalelei was the sixth lowest Power Five starting quarterback in PFN’s 131-player rankings behind Duke’s Leonard vs. Moore battle (No. 122), UNC’s Criswell vs. Maye battle (No. 121), Iowa State’s Hunter Dekkers (No. 115), Missouri’s Brady Cook-Jack Abraham battle and Northwestern’s Ryan Hilinski (No. 113).
ACC quarterback rankings, per PFN
No. 4: Devin Leary, N.C. State
No. 5: Malik Cunningham, Louisville
No. 11: Tyler Van Dyke, Miami
No. 16: Brennan Armstrong, Virginia
No. 19: Sam Hartman, Wake Forest
No. 20: Phil Jurkovec, Boston College
No. 28: Kedon Slovis, Pittsburgh
No. 44: Grant Wells, Virginia Tech
No. 53: Jordan Travis, Florida State
No. 68: Garrett Shrader, Syracuse
No. 82: Jeff Sims OR Zach Gibson, Georgia Tech
No. 111: DJ Uiagalelei, Clemson
No. 121: Drake Maye OR Jacolby Criswell, UNC
No. 122: Riley Leonard OR Jordan Moore, Duke
