Florida Gators Billy Napier Non-Committal on DJ Lagway Role

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier wasn't making any grand statements following freshman quarterback DJ Lagway's record-setting debut vs. Samford.

Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway broke several school records in his debut as a starter vs. Samford. / Kyle Lander, Gators Illustrated

The Florida Gators needed a spark after a lackluster opening week loss to the Miami Hurricanes.

Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway brought a blowtorch.

Lagway set several school records including most-passing yards by a freshman when he hung 456 yards on Samford. He only threw the ball 25 times for an absurd 18.24 yards-per-attempt.

He was making the first start of his career because of an injury to encumbent starter Graham Mertz. The sixth-year senior suffered a concussion after taking a blow to the head that should have been flagged as a personal foul against Miami. However, even before the injury, Mertz was struggling.

Now, no one is going to confuse Samford with the Hurricanes defense, but optimism reigns around 5-star-freshman quarterbacks, and Lagway displayed all the tools on Saturday that warranted the lofty ranking.

Still, no coach is going to make sweeping changes to a roster (publicly at least) immediately after a game, and embattled head coach Billy Napier is no different. He remained non-committal on Lagway's role for next week against Texas A&M, other than to say his freshman would have one.

However, Napier has a legitimate quarterback controversy on his hands in Gainesville.

""Our intentions are the same. We intend to play him every week," said Napier. "I think we intended to do that last week as well. I think we had 20 plays or something at halftime last week. So we struggled to get any rhythm going. But he brings a different element to our team, and there's no question he'll be a part of every plan going forward."

The size (6'3 and 240 pounds), the arm talent, and the running ability were all on display against Samford, but Napier raved about Lagway's makeup following the game.

"I would tell you there's two things," Napier began when asked what impressed him most about Lagway. "Before he got here, I was amazed with the humility and how he handled all the attention. We knew him before he exploded. We found him early, and he was committed to us. Then his high school career just blew up that senior year. But to just see how he handled himself. The way he prioritized his team back at Willis, and the way he carried that community, represented his family."

Napier has seen the same reluctant superstar in Gainesville.

"So that was extremely impressive, and then to get here I think it's never too big for the guy," said Napier. "I almost think it's like he raises his level a little bit. You think about the Spring Game, last week when he went in. You would have never known any different this week. He was just moving right along."

Napier doesn't want to minimalize the role his sixth-year senior has played in Lagway's development the last-eight months.

"I think he's had a chance to watch Graham prepare, knew what to expect, had a week under his belt, and then obviously he was excited," said Napier.

And then the master of understatement struck:

"I think he made the most of his opportunities," Napier concluded.