Getty Las Vegas Raiders HC Jon Gruden.
It was already abundantly clear that the Las Vegas Raiders loved Clemson football last year, and they doubled down in the 2020 NFL Draft. In the last two years, the team has drafted five players from the college football program. This year, the Raiders are bringing in Tanner Muse and John Simpson to rejoin former college teammates Hunter Renfrow, Clelin Ferrell and Trayvon Mullen.
Clemson football is fired up about how the Raiders are stocking up on some of their best players, and quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is ready to wear the silver and black despite only being 19 years old and never playing a college football game.
Uiagalelei is built like a defensive end at 6-feet-5-inches tall and 245 pounds and has a cannon for an arm. He has yet to play in a college football game and probably won’t for a while because of star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, but Jon Gruden should keep an eye on this massive quarterback prospect.
Uiagalelei Is the No.1 QB Prospect in the 2020 High School Class
Is DJ Uiagalelei the next Cam Newton? He very well could be. They are the same height and weigh the exact same amount. Newton has a rocket arm and so does Uiagalelei. Coming out of high school, Uiagalelei is the top high school quarterback coming into the NCAA.
He played his high school ball at St. John Bosco in Bellflower, California, where he passed for 4,225 yards and 48 touchdowns during his senior season. He could be the heir apparent to Lawrence, who should be the number one overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. With Deshaun Watson playing like a star for the Houston Texans and Lawrence on his way to being the most sought after quarterback prospect in years, Clemson clearly knows how to do quarterbacks.
Uiagalelei saying he wants to go play for the Raiders is fun, but he obviously has no say in how that will go down. He won’t be eligible for the draft for a few years, so the team could have a quarterback opening then, but it remains to be seen how his skill set will translate to the NCAA. Regardless, he’s a very exciting player to keep an eye on.
Follow the Heavy on Las Vegas Raiders Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content!
Raiders Prove QB Rumors to Be False Once Again
No matter how often people try to suggest that the Raiders are moving on from Derek Carr, the team continues to prove those narratives wrong. Last year, there was talk about the team going after Kyler Murray or Dwayne Haskins. That didn’t happen and Carr did play well during the season.
This offseason, there were a ton of rumors about how the Raiders were going to target Tom Brady, Jameis Winston and even Philip Rivers. They were also heavily linked to Jordan Love in the draft. Once again, the team didn’t add any of those players. All they did was sign Marcus Mariota in a backup role. While people like to act like Gruden needs to be constantly adding quarterbacks, the evidence doesn’t back that up. He’s never drafted a quarterback in the first two rounds of the draft and hasn’t spent big money on one in free agency.
READ NEXT: Raiders HC Has Revealing Insight on Henry Ruggs, Damon Arnette Picks