Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables was out on the recruiting trail in California to see a linebacker target when he was told about another prospect from the Golden State – five-star quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei.
Jason Negro, Uiagalelei’s head coach at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif., spoke to Venables about Uiagalelei and gave him a heads up that the young phenom recruit was highly interested in Clemson’s program.
While Uiagalelei held offers from virtually every major program across the country at the time, he did not have one from Clemson – the Tigers don’t just freely hand out offers, and they don’t invest time or resources into recruiting a prospect if they don’t feel like they have a real chance or there isn’t genuine interest on the prospect’s end, especially if they are from the West Coast or another faraway state.