Florida State football quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is honoring last year's Seminoles. The quarterback is skipping ACC media days so that last year's team can be recognized.
“I feel strongly that Florida State should be represented by players who were part of last year's ACC championship team,” Uiagalelei said, per his social media. “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.”
Uiagalelei is a transfer from Oregon State, who wasn't a part of the special 2023 season that Florida State football had. The Seminoles ran the table to go 13-0 and win the ACC, before getting snubbed out of a spot in the College Football Playoff. A reason the CFP committee left out the team is due to an injury to starting quarterback Jordan Travis. The Seminoles offense wasn't the same with Travis out of the lineup.
The season ended in horror for the Seminoles, as the team got destroyed 63-3 in the Orange Bowl to Georgia.
Florida State football's 2024 season outlook
The move is certainly a very classy one by Uiagalelei. The quarterback is tasked with once again taking Florida State football to the top of the ACC standings. A CFP appearance would also help heal a lot of the pain fans felt at the end of last season, when the Seminoles got left out of the playoff. The team has some high expectations, as head coach Mike Norvell agreed to a massive contract extension in the offseason. He had been mentioned as a possible replacement to Nick Saban at Alabama.
Uiagalelei has a lot of poise and experience. He played for several years in the ACC already with Clemson. In 2023, he threw for 2,638 yards for Oregon State, in the school's final season in the Pac-12. He tossed 21 touchdowns, with just seven interceptions. Oregon State spent most of the season in the top 25 due to the quarterback's play. The gunslinger, who can run as well as throw, has 8,319 career passing yards. He has thrown 57 touchdowns, with the Tigers and Beavers.
There's a lot of drama off the field this season, as Florida State is one of at least a few known ACC schools looking to possibly leave the conference. The ACC added Stanford, California and SMU in 2023 to help bring some stability to the league. Still, it is a hard sell to a lot of Atlantic Coast schools to have to travel 3,000 miles to away games. It remains to be seen if Florida State will exit stage left at any point soon. The SEC is one of the possible landing spots for Florida State, if the school parts ways with the ACC.
The Seminoles start their 2024 season with a meeting against Georgia Tech, on August 24. The team's non conference slate includes a meeting with in-state rival Florida. Florida State football fans are excited to see what Uiagalelei can do.
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