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Florida State Prepares QB D.J. Uiagalelei To Throw Interceptions With Unusual Drill At Spring Practice

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Dj Uiagalelei Tackling Drill
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Florida State wrapped up its spring football practice period with its annual showcase on Saturday. The Seminoles made sure that they were prepared for D.J. Uiagalelei to throw interceptions. Seriously…

He partook in an unusual drill leading up to the scrimmage that raised quite a few eyebrows.

Uiagalelei, a five-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2020, was the No. 2 ranked player in the country behind only Bryce Young. His career began at Clemson, continued with one season at Oregon State and will conclude with one year in Tallahassee.

It is expected that Uiagalelei will take over the Florida State offense from Jordan Travis with hopes of a College Football Playoff appearance.

However, head coach Mike Norvell must be expecting a few picks along the way.

Video surfaced from spring practice earlier this week. Uiagalelei, who is thicc with two Cs after packing on big weight, was filmed doing a tackling drill. Yes, the quarterbacks were practicing how to wrap up.

Denver Broncos quarterback (and 2023 XFL passing yards leader) Ben DiNucci was baffled by what he saw. Never once did he partake in such a drill during his time at Pittsburgh or James Madison, or in the NFL.

I’ve watched this 10 times and still can’t figure out why they would have QBs do this ???

I’ve played for 15 years and have never done a tackling drill once lol

– @B_DiNucci6

Here’s the thing.

Just because DiNucci has never done a tackling drill does not mean that it is dumb. In fact, for the Seminoles to put an emphasis on their quarterbacks’ ability to tackle without separating their shoulder or getting injured is actually a very valuable thing.

Now, with that being said, it is still as dumb as it looks.

A quarterback would only need to tackle in case of a turnover. D.J. Uiagalelei is essentially preparing to be the last line of defense after throwing an interception or coughing up the ball.

Considering that he had a bit of a turnover problem with the Tigers, maybe it isn’t such a bad idea. Still, though, Florida State is practicing for picks. That’s a tough look. Maybe it should’ve kept that off of film.