DJ Lagway is back on the football field after suffering a hamstring injury in Florida’s week 10 game vs Georgia. Although, it was clear that Lagway wasn’t close to 100% healthy vs LSU. The freshman wasn’t able to swiftly move in the pocket, which often times threw off his mechanics with pressure in his face. Florida didn’t call a single designed run or read option (that Lagway actually pulled). Lagway was able to make some defenders miss in the pocket, but it didn’t look easy or comfortable, and he was never a threat to take off and run.
Florida was able to win behind seven explosive passing plays from Lagway. The Gators protected their limited quarterback as good as you can, allowing zero sacks and just one tackle for loss in the contest.
When Lagway did face pressure vs the Tigers, he wasn’t very efficient, which is understandable given he couldn’t scramble outside of the pocket very much or make throws on the run. Lagway completed just three of ten passes for 56 yards under pressure vs LSU, well below is average completion percentage of 50% when facing pressure prior to week 12. Part of the reason for this is Lagway knew he was limited and had to make decisions on the fly without relying on scrambling outside of the pocket, a significant portion of his game.
As a result, 11.1% of Lagway’s passes vs LSU were considered turnover worthy plays, well above his season average of 3.5%.
The challenge will get even harder in week 13 as Florida is set to clash with an Ole Miss defense that is the best in the country at getting to the quarterback. Their FBS leading 46 sacks is five more than Boise State (41) and 11 more than Pittsburgh (35), who rank 2nd and 3rd in the country in sacks. The trio of Suntarine Perkins, Jared Ivey, and former Gator Princely Umanmielen have combined for 26.5 sacks this season.
Ole Miss’s 235 total pressures leads the SEC. They are the only SEC team with more than 200 pressures on the season.
This goes without saying, but this is a big week of rest for DJ Lagway. How much Lagway can improve his mobility before Saturday’s noon kickoff could be the deciding factor in the game. Ole Miss hasn’t played too many mobile quarterbacks this season, but even when they have, they’ve dominated. The Rebels sacked South Carolina quarterback La’Norris Sellers six times and held the Gamecock offense to three points. Either way, this game is going to be a challenge for Lagway, but if he can get closer to 100% and display his dual threat abilities, it will maximize Florida’s chances to pull off another upset.
Lagway, injured or not, can keep Florida in any game. He still has the best deep ball in the country, completing 16 of 24 deep passes (20+ air yards) for 636 yards and five touchdowns, a passing grade of 99.4, according to Pro Football Focus. But Ole Miss will likely be able to create much more pressure than LSU did a week ago, which could cause problems for a limited QB.