DJ Uiagalelei picked Oregon State as his transfer destination, sight unseen, primarily because of an NFL-style offense that puts great responsibility on its quarterbacks.

Despite the demanding scheme, Uiagalelei, who started most of the past two seasons at Clemson, has felt even more liberated on the practice field this spring.

"I wanted to go somewhere where the scheme is going to fit me," Uiagalelei told ESPN. "I wanted to go somewhere where they're going to let me be who I am as a player, let me play free, and let me go out there and just cut it loose. Just somewhere where I can do what I wanted to do."

Uiagalelei, ESPN's top-rated pocket passer in the 2020 recruiting class, entered the transfer portal Dec. 5 and selected Oregon State 18 days later without visiting campus. Viewed as the next elite Clemson quarterback following Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson, Uiagalelei went 22-6 as the Tigers' starter and showed improvement last season after a turbulent 2021 campaign, but was replaced by freshman Cade Klubnik early in the ACC championship.