The 2024 Florida State Seminoles will go down as one of the wildest college football seasons of All-Time. After going unbeaten in the regular season and winning the ACC Championship in 2023, the Seminoles completely fell apart in 2024 going 2-10 which no one saw coming. Everyone can blame it on losing pieces like Jordan Travis, Keon Coleman, and Jared Verse but, taking a step back is far different than what Florida State did.
Most of the blame from Florida State fans lands on the quarterback as they went out and added transfer DJ Uiagalelei. The former 5-star recruit was coming off of a bounce back season at Oregon State yet, he clearly never clicked at Florida State and in many ways it derailed the entire season for the Seminoles.
The miserable season saw DJ Uiagalelei go from a Top 3 recruit in his class to completely undrafted which is a stunning turn for any player. Going undrafted made it highly unlikely that Uiagalelei would make any team in the NFL yet, he signed with the Chargers and impressed.
In the first two games of the preseason, DJ Uiagalelei played sparingly but, when he was on the field he was constantly impressing. In the third and final game of the preseason, Uiagalelei got his most playing time of the season and he once again turned in an impressive showing.
Uiagalelei finished the game with 16 completions on 31 attempts passing for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns with an interception while adding 13 yards with his legs. The interception was a terrible play but, Uiagalelei also made some incredible throws including and incredible throw on the run for a 25 yard touchdown.
DJ Uiagalelei throws this TD on a rope to Oronde Gadsden!
— NFL (@NFL) August 24, 2025
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/4ofbWrofRH
In his first NFL Preseason, Uiagalelei completed 19 of 35 attempts for 244 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception. The impressive showing that Uiagalelei put together to start his NFL career only makes what happened last season more confusing.
All signs coming into the Seminoles 2024 season pointed toward Mike Norvell being one of the best coaches in the sport and Uiagalelei looking like a quarterback back on the rise. The two both going from individuals with a high stock to falling apart was a truly stunning turn of events. The Seminoles woes will only get stranger if Uiagalelei continues to shine and if Mike Norvell bounces back this season.
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