In Dublin, Uiagalelei and King in spotlight as No. 10 FSU and Georgia Tech kick off season

For someone as traveled as DJ Uiagalelei, this is his first time out of the country.

Uiagalelei will make his debut with his third college on Saturday when No. 10 Florida State takes on Georgia Tech at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.

“I finally get to use my passport,” quipped Uiagalelei, the former Clemson and Oregon State starting quarterback.

The Seminoles and Yellow Jackets — teams about a four-hour drive apart — flew nearly 4,000 miles to kick off the college football season overseas. ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be on hand for its first international broadcast and all eyes will be on Uiagalelei and Georgia Tech standout Haynes King.

The dual-threat quarterbacks are considered among the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024.

Uiagalelei will try to fill the cleats of four-year starter and 2023 ACC Player of the Year Jordan Travis. Uiagalelei brings plenty of experience to his third stop, including 8,319 yards passing and 57 touchdowns to go along with 1,132 yards and 21 scores on the ground.

“He’s played a lot of football games,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said. “He’s seen it all. He’s been through highs. He’s been through lows. I could not be any more pleased with what I’ve seen since he got here in January, even just his growth.

“He’s playing with a lot of confidence. I’m excited to go see him play like he’s prepared. If he does that, I think he could have a very special season.”

The Yellow Jackets feel the same way about King, who transferred from Texas A&M and accounted for 3,729 yards of total offense and 37 touchdowns in his first season under coach Brent Key at Tech.

King led the conference with 27 passing TDs — as well as 16 interceptions. If he lowers the turnovers, the Yellow Jackets could be in for bigger things than just making a bowl game. Tech ranked third in the league in total offense in 2023, and Key revamped his defensive staff in hopes of having a more well-rounded team.

“Our whole goal, my goal as the head coach, is we prepare the right way, we practice the right way, we go over there and we play the game the right way,” Key said. “We play physical, we finish, and when the scoreboard hits 0:00, then we’ll look up at some point and see what happens. But we’re going over there to get into a fight.”

Uiagalelei’s help

The Seminoles expect Uiagalelei to grow into his new role and can give him the time to do so. They have senior Lawrance Toafili and Alabama transfer Roydell Williams running behind an offensive line that boasts 345 collegiate starts.

So Uiagalelei might not be asked to do too much early. Regardless, he should have plenty of receiver talent around him when called on.

The Seminoles will turn to Alabama transfer Malik Benson, fellow senior Ja’Khi Douglas and freshman Jalen Brown to replace stars Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson.

“It makes my job easy,” Uiagalelei said. “I just got to put it in the spot, and I know they’re going to make the catch and make the grab and make me look good. … They’ve just been dominating, and it’s good to see.”

Punter’s homecoming

Georgia Tech punter David Shanahan is believed to be the first Irishman awarded a full scholarship to play American college football. And this will be a huge homecoming for a kid who grew up playing rugby and Gaelic football in Castleisland, Ireland.

He ended up at Prokick Australia in 2019 before landing at Georgia Tech. Now, five years after his journey began, Shanahan’s family will get together for the first time for one of his college games. Shanahan estimates he and his family got roughly 40 tickets.

“I think I’ve got enough, just about,” Shanahan said.

Suspended assistant

The Seminoles will be without offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Alex Atkins for the game. Atkins was suspended three games by the NCAA for his role in 2022 recruiting violations.

Senior offensive analyst Gabe Fertitta will handle Atkins’ game-day duties.

“A lot of confidence in him and what he brings and what he has brought to our program over the last few years, and it’s going to be as smooth of a transition as we can have it there on game day,” Norvell said.

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