Florida State coach Mike Norvell said Tuesday that quarterback DJ Uiagalelei will likely be out for "the next couple of weeks" with a finger injury, clearing the way for Brock Glenn to start when the Seminoles host No. 15 Clemson on Saturday. Uiagalelei is set to undergo further testing on the injury, which he suffered in the fourth quarter of FSU's Week 5 loss to SMU.
Glenn and Uiagalelei were listed as co-starters on Florida State's depth chart this week after Uiagalelei exited in the fourth quarter of a 42-16 loss to the Mustangs, which dropped the Seminoles to 1-4. Norvell later revealed that Uiagalelei suffered a finger injury in the loss.
The decision to replace Uiagalelei in the game was made prior to the injury, Norvell said, as Florida State wanted to see if Glenn, a redshirt freshman, could give the offense a spark in the wake of an 82-yard pick six that extended SMU's lead to 26 points with 12:55 remaining. Glenn finished 0 for 4 through the air. With Uiagalelei sidelined, Glenn's backup will be freshman Luke Kromenhoek, a four-star prospect from the Class of 2024.
"Wanted to see that opportunity for Brock to go in and execute. I thought he did some good things, had a nice throw we didn't finish on, I thought he did miss one of the vertical shots," Norvell explained. "But overall operation of what we asked him to do was good, but that wasn't shocking to me. Brock and Luke both do a great job in how they prepare, they try to prepare as if they are going to play every play in the game. … I thought he was ready for the moment."
A former four-star prospect, Glenn was forced into starting duty as a true freshman last season following a season-ending injury to starter Jordan Travis. He completed 8 of 21 passes for 55 yards in FSU's ACC Championship Game victory over Louisville and was 9 of 26 through the air in the Seminoles' Orange Bowl loss to Florida State.
The pick six in the fourth quarter was Uiagalelei's third interception of the game, bringing his season total to six interceptions in five games with a 1-4 record as the team's starter. Uiagalelei has just four passing touchdowns to go with those six picks and a 53.8% completion percentage. If Norvell was already considering a change at quarterback prior to Uiagalelei's injury, this development may have opened the door for Florida State to try and reverse its offensive fortunes with a quarterback change.
Still, Norvell has maintained that the offensive struggles are a team-wide issue and not squarely on the shoulders of Uiagalelei.
"[Uiagalelei] made some poor decisions and a couple bad throws, but you've got to help the quarterback," Norvell said Monday. "I don't think we've done a good job of that consistently. At the end of the day, we all have to have ownership in that."
With three conference losses already, Florida State is out of the ACC title race and facing an uphill battle to make a bowl game. But as Norvell tries to navigate the upcoming weeks to guarantee the best possible big-picture outcomes, there will be opportunities to let younger talent, like Glenn, get a shot in live action.
