Is DJ Uiagalelei playing today vs Notre Dame? Florida State quarterback status explored

Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and the Florida State Seminoles have not had the season they expected. The Seminoles were expected to contend to win the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Uiagalelei was expected to be a big part of that. However, the Seminoles have underperformed by a massive margin, and Uiagalelei struggled to perform before suffering an injury in late September.

Uiagalelei suffered an injury to his throwing hand in Florida State's 42–16 loss to SMU on Sept. 28. He is still recovering from the injury and will not play against No. 10-ranked Notre Dame on Saturday.

DJ Uiagalelei injury update

Uiagalelei suffered an injury to his throwing hand in a game against SMU in late September. He needed surgery to repair the injury. After surgery, his timeline for return was a few weeks, but depending on how his recovery went, he could miss the rest of the season. He has not returned to practice, and as a result, he will not be available to play on Saturday for Florida State (1-8) against Notre Dame (7-1).

What happened to DJ Uiagalelei?

DJ Uiagalelei suffered a broken finger on his throwing hand in the fourth quarter in the Seminoles' loss to SMU on Sept. 28. On the play, he threw the ball shortly before getting tackled. To make matters worse, the pass was intercepted and returned for an SMU touchdown.

Uiagalelei did not return to the game and shortly after, it was determined that he would need surgery to fix his throwing hand. He has been seen on the sideline at Florida State games since the injury while wearing a cast. The coaching staff has not provided an update on his recovery.

When will DJ Uiagalelei return?

It is not clear when DJ Uiagalelei will return from his injury. Initially, it was thought that he would miss a few weeks recovering from the injury, but it has been more than a month since he underwent surgery and no update has been provided. As a result, he is not expected to return on Saturday against Notre Dame, and he might not return this season.

If he does not return, it will likely be the end of his college career as he is in his fourth year of eligibility. If he wanted to play next season, he would need to appeal to the NCAA for a medical hardship waiver. However, he has already played more than 30% of the season, the threshold for seeking such a waiver, so it would be unlikely to be approved.