DJ Lagway Named SEC Freshman of the Week

The Florida quarterback threw for 226 yards and a touchdown in his return from a hamstring injury.

Nov 16, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) looks to pass the ball against the LSU Tigers during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Florida Gators freshman quarterback DJ Lagway is the SEC's Freshman of the Week for Week 12, the league announced Monday.

In his return to the field after missing the last six quarters of game time, Lagway helped lead the Gators to a 27-16 upset over rival LSU by throwing for 226 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers and a passer rating of 135.7. Of his 13 completions, seven went for over 17 yards.

He did all of that while still not fully recovered from a hamstring strain that forced him to miss the entire second half of the loss to Georgia and the entire game against Texas.

"Just somebody gotta make the play. And why not me?" Lagway said after Saturday's game. "That's my thought process. Always want to be a game-changer, want to change the game. When the big plays arrive, I've got to make the play. That's what Coach Napier recruited me for. Blessed to have the opportunity to make the play."

In Saturday's win, Lagway forged a consistent deep-threat connection with senior receiver Elijhah Badger, who caught six passes for a game-high 131 yards and a touchdown. Lagway's lone touchdown came on a 23-yarder to Badger in the first quarter, and the duo combined for a 36-yarder in the fourth quarter to set up Ja'Kobi Jackson's touchdown to take the lead.

The win also moved Lagway to 3-1 as Florida's starting quarterback and 3-0 in games where he plays all four quarters.

"God blessed that young man, is what I would say," head coach Billy Napier said on Saturday. "... And again, the guy wasn't 100 percent. He wanted to play last week. And then obviously he came in the building Sunday, said, "I'm playing this week." And we kept him in the pocket for the most part, limited the read game and the run game and overall, it ended up working out."

With the accolade, Lagway is the first UF freshman quarterback to be the SEC's Freshman of the Week since Treon Harris in 2014. He's also the second UF freshman to take home the weekly award this season after Jadan Baugh.

Lagway is also the third Gator to earn a conference weekly award this week, joining Shemar James, who is the SEC's Defensive Player of the Week, and Trey Smack, who is the SEC's Special Teams Player of the Week. It's the first time three Gators have been named to the SEC's weekly individual awards on the same week since 2016 (Tyrie Cleveland, David Reese and Eddy Pineiro versus LSU).