Clemson Football: Why is DJ Uiagalelei’s composite ranking dropping?

5-star Clemson football QB commit DJ Uiagalelei is considered the best QB in the nation by every service, except one. And it’s causing his rating to drop.

If you look at Clemson football QB commit DJ Uiagalelei’s recruiting ranking in every single individual service, you’ll see that he’s basically a consensus top-five player.

In the Top 247 Sports Rankings, Uiagalelei is ranked No. 3 in the nation behind Bryan Bresee (No. 1) and Jordan Burch (No.2). In the Rivals’ Recruiting Rankings, Uiagalelei is considered the No. 1 player in the nation.

But, for some reason Uiagalelei has dropped outside of the top-10 to No. 13 in the nation in the 247 Sports’ Composite Rankings (which take into account several services). Why? Because ESPN’s Recruiting Rankings have him rated as a 4-star prospect and No. 50 in the nation.

Don’t let it fool you. ESPN used to have Uiagalelei much higher in the rankings and even listed him as a 5-star. Over time, though, the services has continuously dropped him and it doesn’t make much sense.

All Uiagalelei has done is impress scouts.

Though he’s not the fastest runner, Uiagalelei has the strongest arm in the country. He is the only QB in this class that is capable of throwing the ball legitimately 80 yards.

Honestly, there aren’t many starting quarterbacks in the collegiate game today that can throw the ball 80-plus yards.

In addition to his arm strength, Uiagalelei is built like a tank. He is able to take hits and dish them out, as well, in the running game.

At some point, ESPN will have to recognize his greatness. Well, at least you’d think so. The four-letter network did have Deshaun Watson as a 4-star.

Uiagalelei certainly deserves to be higher ranked than where he’s at, but he’ll have an opportunity to show that as the fall gets here and as he competes in the Elite 11. The good news is that Clemson football knows what they have in the talented QB and what he brings to the program as an elite signal-caller.