David Uiagalelei, known as “Big Dave” to his friends, walked out of Clemson’s Abernathy Hotel before the Tigers’ final home game against Pitt and tried to make his way to Memorial Stadium in time to watch his son, freshman quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, warm up. The journey took longer than expected, but that journey is merely an example of why Big Dave is the celebrity Clemson didn’t know it needed.
Big Dave isn’t hard to spot, whether he’s in Hollywood protecting one of his clients or in Clemson watching his son play. It’s easy to see a 6-4, 385-pound man of Samoan descent decked out in all orange, wearing the world’s biggest smile.