One of the biggest storylines of the offseason surrounding Florida football is five-star freshman quarterback DJ Lagway. It remains to be seen how much the Texas native will see the field this season, but the former No.1 QB in the 2024 class has the talent to positively impact the game on Saturdays.
Lagway stepped foot on campus in spring as an early enrollee, giving the 6’3, 239-pound quarterback crucial developmental reps throughout spring camp, which is significant for any freshman that’s looking to make an impact in year one, especially at the quarterback position. It provided Lagway an opportunity to learn the playbook and get a feel for the speed of the SEC ahead of the 2024 season. Head coach Billy Napier noticed a significant growth in Lagway’s development from spring to fall camp.
“Just overall comfort level in the system I would say,” Napier said on Lagway’s growth. “I had a conversation with him the other day coming off after practice one, and you say, I know that wasn’t perfect, the practice day is never perfect, but just think about where you’re at now compared to where you were at you know after spring number one.”
“I think he made tremendous growth,” Napier added on Lagway. “His knowledge of defense, and I think he’s improved fundamentally, too. I think the ball’s coming out more consistently, his feet have been polished up. He’s getting better.”
Florida is now 12th practices into fall camp and Lagway continues to impress his teammates with his elite arm talent and athleticism.
“Definitely his arm power,” tight end Arlis Boardingham said on how Lagway impresses him. “I feel like when it’s all said and done, you’ll know DJ has a cannon for an arm because he’ll launch it. You’ve seen in the scrimmage clips, you’ve seen him launch the ball to Tank. It was pretty far throw. It was on the money too.”
Lagway’s deep ball seems effortless, despite having a ton of power behind the throw. One thing I don’t get to see in Florida’s practices is live reps, which is where the dual threat quarterback should be able to make a significant impact given his ability to extend plays and scramble outside of the pocket.
“His cuts,” tight end Hayden Hansen said on what stands out about Lagway. “If he’s running on the outside, scrambling and the defender is kind of a little bit over, and he’ll stick his foot in the ground, he’s gone. It’s really fun to watch.”
There’s little doubt that Lagway looks the part of a future star quarterback in the SEC, but the likely determining factor in how much playing time he receives in 2024 is his ability to learn Florida’s offense and his decision making, something Florida’s staff believes is trending in the right direction.
“He’s really good. He’s really smart,” Hansen added on Lagway. “He came here in the spring, this is, again, this is a hard offense to learn and he’s playing fast, he’s making the right decisions. I’m just really excited to watch him grow.”
Lagway is expected to start the 2024 season as Florida’s QB2 behind returning starter Graham Mertz, who believes the sky is the limit for the young quarterback, but not just because of his athletic ability, rather his off the field approach on a day-to-day basis.
“I see a different side of it,” Mertz said on Lagway. “Yeah, he’s big, he’s 240, can move, and can make any throw on the field. The biggest thing is his humility and his approach. I think that’s the biggest thing as a young player. If you can have that you can grow faster because you’re being real with yourself. What can I get better at right now? And focus in on that and growing a little bit every day. I think it’s his day-to-day just humility in what he does that’s going to help him skyrocket.”
There are several reasons why it would be in Billy Napier’s best interest to get Lagway playing time in year one, with the first being he can help Florida win games right now given his athleticism and overall talent.