ATHENS — “Big Dave” Uiagalelei, father of Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, was along for the ride when his nephew Nicholaus “Nico Iamaleava and son Matayo toured the Georgia campus and the football facilities.
“This was my first time, and they were incredible, Georgia rolled out the red carpet,” Uiagalelei said. “They all knew I was D.J.’s dad, so I had to tell them I wanted to apologize in advance of the game, haha!”
Big Dave took the time to share some video of the bus tour portion on his Twitter account, another indication of his fun-loving approach to recruiting.
A little weird
Big Dave Uiagalelei is a jovial, fun-loving football father who became well-known in the SoCal High School ranks as his eldest son was starring at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif.
“Of course it was a little weird, because they are going to play my son,” Uiagalelei said of being on the UGA campus. “But at the end of the day, I’m here for my nephew.”
Having gone through the recruiting process with D.J., it only made sense that he accompany Iamaleava, a rising junior at Warren High School in Downey, Calif., as he took unofficial visits to Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia and on Monday, Alabama.
Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson and USC have offered Iamaleava, a 6-foot-5, 195-pounder who is rated the No. 50 player in the nation on the 2023 Class per the 247Sports composite, and the No. 5 quarterback.
Run over the competition
The Bulldogs would appear well-stocked with quarterbacks, with Second-year freshman Carson Beck, incoming freshman Brock Vandagriff, and 2022 commit Gunner Stockton,
But Big Dave said competition won’t factor into where Iamaleava chooses to play football, just like it didn’t affect his son, D.J. Uiagalelei.
“To be successful in life, you have to be challenged,” Big Dave said. “If everything is handed to you, you won’t be successful because when you face adversity, you won’t know how to handle it.
“Kids need to get challenged, and that’s why we’re not afraid of who you are recruiting or who is coming in,” he said. “We teach our family that you don’t run away from competition, you run over the compeitition.”
That said, Big Dave Mae it clear Georgia’s new $80 million football building is indeed competitive with Clemson’s $55 million, trendsetting state-of-the-art football building, though he stopped short of declaring which one was nicer,
“They aren’t finished with it, but what they have in the first phase looked amazing,” Uiagalelei said of the Georgia building. “I’ve heard it’s the biggest weight room in the country. The locker room looked amazing.
“They are still working on it. A lot of the stuff they have there is in the first phase, so we were very impressed.”
Monken Tour Guide
Iamaleava, meanwhile, was impressed with the Georgia coaching staff.
“Coach (Todd) Monken was actually our tour guide around the facility,” Iamaleava said. “I loved both of those coaches, Coach Smart and Coach Monken. They were just great guys, and they made me feel real comfortable.”
Georgia quarterback JT Daniels also made his way up to the facility to meet Iamaleava and get a picture taken with him.
“They are both from California, it’s s small fraternity of all the quarterbacks that know each other,” Big Dave said. “Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson, those schools all have Cali kids running their teams.
“Bryce Young at Alabama, C.J. Stroud at Ohio State, D.J. at Clemson and JT Daniels at Georgia. It shows the power and the pedigree they have in California when it comes to quarterbacks.”
Uiagalelei could have gone a couple of steps further and mentioned Matt Corral at Ole Miss and former South Carolina quarterback Ryan Hilinski, who beat at top 5 Georgia team in Sanford Stadium in 2019 before recently transferring to Northwestern.
The next Uiagalelei
Of course, the college football world will be focused on Big Dave’s son, D.J. Uiagalelei, and Daniels when they continue their rivalry at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 4 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
Big Dave will be there, and he’ll also be watching and supporting D.J.’s younger brother, Matayo, a 6-4, 255-pounder who can play tight end and defensive end, and ranks as the No. 47 player in the 2023 class, and the No. 3 edge rusher.
RELATED: SoCal HS legends and rivals Daniels, Uiagalelei meet in Georgia-Clemson game
Matayo Uiagelelei is a teammate of offensive lineman Earnest Greene at St. John Bosco, who is the top-ranked player at his position in California.
Greene is another Golden State player the Bulldogs are recruiting.
WATCH: Earnest Greene discusses Georgia and pending NCAA football rules
