Florida, Billy Napier Hang Their Hopes on National Player of the Year DJ Lagway

The Gators have been free falling down the Class of 2024 recruiting rankings over the last month, but on Wednesday they retained the player that could make that irrelevant.

Florida’s 2024 recruiting class at one point was in the top five of the major recruiting rankings. Things change quickly in recruiting and in the span of a month, their ranking has plummeted from the top five to barely staying inside the top 20. It’s no secret this 22-man recruiting class was a crucial one for Napier and his staff to get over the line. As the on-field product suffered for the Gators with five straight losses, the program could sell the future with a talented class. Napier is now 11–14 with the Gators ahead of a difficult ‘24 schedule that includes 11 Power 5 teams.

The perception of Florida’s recruiting class will be defined by two things. One is the sheer amount of players who were no longer in it by the time the early signing period arrived. Since mid-November, eight players flipped their commitments away from Florida: five-star DB Xavier Filsaime (Texas), four-star DL Amaris Williams (Auburn), four-star DL Adarius Hayes (Miami), four-star DL Jamonta Waller (Auburn), four-star DB Wardell Mack (Texas), four-star DL Nasir Johnson (Georgia), and four-star WR Izaiah Williams (Texas A&M).

“We anticipated some attrition,” head coach Billy Napier said. “Reality is we might have been okay with some of it. I think you find out about where you're at when you go through a process and how things are handled to some degree. So look, it goes back to, if you don't want to be here, let's go ahead and get that out of the way now.”

Napier didn’t deliver the decorated recruiting class it once seemed he would :: Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun-USA TODAY NETWORK

Florida did have a late win to its day by fending off Auburn for in-state five-star DL prospect LJ McCray. Although UF’s vacant defensive line coaching position is expected to be filled soon, McCray is expected to work directly with edge coach Mike Peterson. Sources confirmed a report by 247Sports that former Tulane defensive coordinator Gerald Chatman is a target for the job. Napier delayed his press conference until McCray’s announcement around 5:45 p.m. ET.

The bright side, and the second way in which this class will be defined, is unquestionably the signing of quarterback DJ Lagway, the national player of the year by some outlets and crown jewel of Florida’s class. Despite a late push by USC, among others, Lagway’s signing day was much more uneventful than it seemed with his letter of intent actually being sent in much earlier in the day than his 4:30 p.m. signing ceremony. Lagway, a 6’2”, 225-pound quarterback from Texas, produced a staggering 4,631 passing yards and 58 touchdowns through the air during his senior high school campaign. As a runner he added 975 yards and 15 scores.

“The biggest compliment I can give DJ is that, as much attention as he has received throughout the recruiting process, he's a better human being, he's a better leader,” Napier said. “His character, his faith, his example, the way he treats people, his work ethic, his focus, his drive to get better.

”Yesterday in particular, the guy got up at 4:30 a.m. He worked out. He drove 45 minutes. He did a throwing session. He accepts the National Player of the Year award, and then he calls and says, ‘Hey, let's jump on a Zoom here and talk about formations and motions.’ That's the type of young man we're talking about here. There's substance to him, and I think he's been raised by an exceptional family."

His presence in this class rectifies the debacle that was Jaden Rashada’s brief time as a signee in which NIL promises went unfulfilled and exposed Florida’s third-party collectives’ sloppy player-compensation infrastructure. Lagway’s signature is one sign Florida can point to as evidence the program is on the right track as its consolidated NIL efforts into one entity called Florida Victorious. There is no question that Lagway is the most important recruit in this class, and if he pans out, the most impactful since Tim Tebow. However, he may not see much of the field as a freshman as he’s expected to back up incumbent Graham Mertz.

Napier left his signing day press conference to go to a dinner with top NIL “investors” in the program. He told SI his first words to those in attendance will be simply: thank you.

“When you're investing in NIL these days, you gotta play the long game, you gotta see the end result,” Napier said. “Hopefully it helps us win, but hopefully we did it in a way that has class, character, integrity. We're teaching a little bit about things that matter while we're while we're trying to invest.”

This class may not be what many envisioned a month ago, but how it pans out will define Napier’s tenure no matter what it ends up being ranked.