Florida’s 2025 campaign is resting a lot on DJ Lagway’s young shoulders. After lighting up the field with his brilliance in 2024, the Gators quarterback emerged as one of the most noteworthy QBs in college football. He only has a year of CFB experience, and experts are already touting him to be a Heisman contender this year. But Lagway also showed flaws amidst his impressive 2024 run. He now has a taste of what high-stakes college football truly is. His second year as the Gators’ starting QB is expected to bring more good news for Billy Napier and Co. But for that to happen, the HC has to do a particular task.
DJ Lagway breathed life into the Gators’ 2024 season that was languishing at 3-3 until the Kentucky game. He made his first start in the Samford game, when Graham Mertz was first injured in the season. And he stupefied the crowd. 456 yards – a true freshman feat for UF – and 3 TDs. Being a freshman and playing his first game of college football didn’t scare him much. He threw a crazy touchdown pass to Aiden Mizell. Then came an exceptional deep ball throw to Elijhah Badger for 77 yards. Lagway looked like a born-ready starting quarterback and was unfazed. It is this very confidence that On3’s J.D. PicKell thinks Billy Napier should encourage in the QB.
PicKell broke down Lagway’s winner mentality: “He’s not afraid to play outside of the structure of the system. And he’s great when the play breaks down. But he’s confident in his abilities to make those throws and tight windows, to be able to throw the ball, and know that his arm talent’s good enough to get it there. Even with his feet, not being set.” Lagway earned a name for himself for having supreme accuracy when it came to deep throws. “It’s not just the creativity and playmaking ability. It’s the confidence that he possesses as a football player,” PicKell added further.
“[The Gators] are gonna have a chance in every game if [Lagway] takes that next step and continues to elevate with this skillset, the sky’s the limit for this guy,” the analyst noted. “I think Billy Napier has done a great job and Florida has done a great job. The powers that be from an IL perspective, having the roster in a place to where you can maximize him, but he’s still got to elevate on the field to get you to where you want to get to.”
“But the skillset, the flashes last year, all those things get me very excited for what he can be,” PicKell declared. What Napier should do this season for Lagway, his best bet at publishing a better record for Florida, is build better protection for his QB. Sure, his gutsy decisions have not always made their mark. Lagway’s total TDs are only 3 more than his INTs.
However, that does not take away from the fact that he has so much more power and potential in him. Lagway is the kind of player who comes rarely. And for a program like Florida, he is more than just a blessing. NFL scouts, too, are excited to see the QB1 return for his second season.
DJ Lagway sees high praise from NFL scouts
When you have someone like Lagway on your team and stand to lose him for a season, it’s only human to be fearful. Napier never ascertained it, but Lagway’s delicate injury cast a shadow over his future career. Whispers about the QB’s potential season miss spread like wildfire. But Lagway is back. And better than how he looked last season. NFL Rookie Watch put it in better words: “DJ Lagway is built like an absolute TANK at the QB position.”
“One NFL scout reportedly believes Lagway is one of the ‘scariest built’ QB prospects to ever play the game,” the post read. Lagway finds a close similarity in a Dallas Cowboys star linebacker. “He’s Micah Parsons playing QB. Defenders have more trouble bringing him down than any other player on the offense.” Here’s how the two compare physically. Lagway stands at 6-3, 245 pounds. Micah Parsons has the same height but is 5 pounds heavier than the current QB1. At just 19 years old, he looks like a physical phenom in the sport.
The comparisons didn’t just stop there. “One anonymous Power-5 coach even believes Lagway is the ‘best QB to come through Florida’ since Tim Tebow,” the post read further. Urban Meyer’s star QB in Florida, Tim Tebow, got the Gators two BCS National Championship wins, and himself a Heisman trophy. In fact it’s not just Tim Tebow whom Lagway is following. Anthony Richardson is also an icon of the past, with the current QB1 in the mix.
DJ Lagway is Billy Napier’s best bet for a double-digit season, and at least a playoff spot, if not a run to the Natty. But for that, Napier has to find confidence in his QB1’s brazen attitude and style of play. Lagway would excel if he were allowed more freedom in his performance, because he has the goods to succeed. Billy Napier has to find it in him to allow himself to let his ‘tank’ do the damage he is primed for.
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