DJ Uiagalelei is quickly becoming the villain in the eyes of Noles fans. After his disappointing performance, the future of Florida State football under his leadership is now becoming a big question mark.

On September 2nd, FSU faced the Boston College Eagles, only to end the night with a 13-28 loss. Well, the starting QB Uiagalelei took most of the blame for it.

He struggled to even reach a 60% pass completion rate in this Week 1 matchup, and things got worse in the third quarter. A crucial pass meant for tight end Kyle Marlock was intercepted by Eagles’ defensive back Max Tucker. The pass ended up incomplete in the end zone, and the crowd let their frustration show by booing Uiagalelei. Not only that, but chants of “We want Brock” echoed through Doak Campbell Stadium, calling for backup QB Brock Glenn.

Now, fans’ anger is quite understandable, especially with the Eagles leading 21-6 at that point. Thereafter, the game too ended giving a second consecutive loss for FSU. Well, this left many fans screaming for Glenn to take over the rest. Looks like after watching Uiagalelei’s poor performance, they are starting to think Glenn might be the better option.

But Brock Glenn hasn’t played much for FSU, having joined last year as a three-star transfer. His debut wasn’t great though, as he struggled in the Orange Bowl and against Georgia in the 2023 finals, completing only 19 of 51 passes. Yet, some fans believe that the amateur Glenn might be a better choice than Uiagalelei. Is DJ Uiagalelei really that bad, or are fans jumping to conclusions too soon?

DJ Uiagalelei’s consistent mediocrity

DJ Uiagalelei isn’t a bad player, but he hasn’t been a great fit for the FSU football program. Florida State has high standards after finishing last year undefeated in the ACC, but their Week 0 game this season started with a disappointing 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech—a team they were expected to beat easily. Here again, DJU took most of the backlash for his average performance, playing for just 197 yards and completing only 19 of 27 passes.

However, JD Pickell from On3 doesn’t put all the blame on him. FSU’s offensive line has struggled, and their defense didn’t play well either. As Pickell notes, “Any time there’s a strain on the other part of the equation, you have to ask more of someone else from other categories.” DJ Uiagalelei was expected to be “part of this machine” called FSU, but as Pickell bluntly puts it, “the other parts of the machine did not work properly” too. 

However, it wasn’t just the first game. DJ Uiagalelei showed the same issues against the Eagles, completing less than half of his passes. So, is DJU failing to sync with the rest of the team, or is FSU as a whole turning into a rusty machine?