While interim head coach Billy Gonzales wouldn’t name a starting quarterback for Florida’s week 12 matchup at Ole Miss, he did note that sophomore DJ Lagway will take first team reps at Monday’s practice.
“Right now, my mind is he’s going to take one-reps when we go out to practice today,” Gonzales said on Lagway during Monday’s press conference. “But again, I say competition is great for everybody.”
Lagway has started all nine games for Florida this season but was benched after throwing three first half interceptions vs. Kentucky last Saturday.
“It was my decision to take him out of the game at that point, and we were struggling, he had a tough – but it’s not all on him, and I told him that. I said, you know, as a coach, it’s our responsibility if someone’s struggling, help them out or take them out so they’re not put in that position to have to keep fighting through that,” Gonzales said on removing Lagway.
Gonzales compared Lagway’s performance at Kentucky to a Major League Baseball pitcher not having his A-game.
“For some reason another, he didn’t have the day that he wanted to have,” Gonzales said on Lagway. “I talked to him about that. I said, ‘So you’re a great player, but I’m not going to let somebody just continue to struggle. I wanted to bring you out and let you refocus, let you gather, let you learn, and hopefully it’s a learning experience, it’s gonna make you better, this week, when we prepare for Ole Miss’. So that was my thought process.”
True freshman quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. played the entire second half, completing 9-17 passes for 60 yards. It was just the second appearance of his career (LIU) and first against SEC competition.
“I thought he did a fantastic job, Gonzales said on Jones Jr. “That was his first SEC play. To get out there and get the chance to take the team, lead the team, a learning experience for him. And just like I said with DJ getting a chance to refocus on the sideline and look and see from a different point of view, I think it’s always good. You’re going to put yourself in a position to be better by getting reps, and that was his chance to get some reps in a game situation, and it’ll continue that way over his time here at the University of Florida.”
One clear factor in this quarterback decision is Jones Jr.’s potential redshirt season. Freshmen can play in up to four games and maintain an extra year of eligibility. With Jones Jr. at two appearances this season, if he plays in the remaining three games (whether starting or coming off bench) he’ll burn his redshirt. Although Gonzales didn’t give us the specifics, it’s a conversation they’ve had with Jones Jr. and his family.
“Absolutely. Again, we go through a list of how many games on that list and how many games they have left to play. Definitely talk to them about it. I know those discussions have been spoken with our quarterback coach and, again, front office and his parents. So, that’s something definitely to monitor where we’re at with that as well,” Gonzales said.
DJ Lagway has the edge to start the week of preparation for Ole Miss, but Gonzales left the door open for a potential quarterback change, citing ‘competition’ multiple times throughout Monday’s press conference.