Cam's Column: Future is Now for Florida Gators and DJ Lagway

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier needs to make the decision that is best interest of the program, and that's quarterback DJ Lagway.

Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway vs. Samford / Kyle Lander, Gators Illustrated

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The future in Gainesville is now.

Saturday’s 45-7 win by the Florida Gators over Samford belonged to freshman quarterback DJ Lagway, who gave back any glimmer of hope for a program that saw all outside confidence disappear in a blowout loss to Miami to open the season. 

The fans in attendance made that sentiment clear with chants of “D-J, Lag-Way” echoing The Swamp after each of the five-star’s touchdown passes. 

"Yeah, I was chanting with them," said receiver Eugene Wilson III.

It wasn’t perfect by any means for the Gators. Let’s get that clear now. 

We won’t talk about the wildcat call on fourth-and-one to begin the game that completely backfired. Or Jadan Baugh’s fumble in the endzone. Or some of the third down conversions the defense gave up. Or the boneheaded penalties. (To their credit, the playcalling, Baugh and the defense got significantly better as the game went on). 

Florida only held a 14-0 lead at halftime against Samford, a now 0-2 FCS program. It didn’t seem to matter, though, with Lagway at quarterback.

He was more than extraordinary against the Bulldogs. His performance was transcendent. 

His 456 yards passing set a new true freshman record for UF and is now ninth all-time in program history. It’s not just about the sheer numbers he put it, though. It’s about the way he did it. 

“I was just locked into the task at hand,” Lagway said. “My coach is telling me one play at a time. That's what it is, just executing one play at a time. Just getting my guys involved, just getting everybody involved with the ball, that's the biggest thing.”

Let’s also get one more thing clear before we dive in: Graham Mertz would have beaten Samford one way or another. This simply isn’t a knock on him, but the offense is simply different when Lagway is in the game. 

Lagway made more big-time throws in one night as a starter than Mertz has yet to make in a now-six-year career. In the entirety of last season, Mertz completed five passes of at least 40 yards. Lagway accomplished that feat in one night. Three of those came in his first-four throws. 

“It's impressive,” said UF head coach Billy Napier. “I think the vertical passing game, not just -- I mean, these are accurate, right in stride. They were impressive.”

It’s not just the fact that he can throw it 40 yards. It’s about the way it happens. Lagway moves around the pocket and is able to throw receivers open while maintaining composure. Just look at his touchdown pass to Aidan Mizell. 

THROW IT ANYWAY @DerekLagway

💻 https://t.co/hB4MreiMiV pic.twitter.com/Q9pCPQRe6D

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) September 8, 2024

"He was out there playing backyard ball,” Wilson III said. “That ball to Mizell, that jump was crazy because he, like, stepped up and, to be honest, I was wide-open on the play. He just scrambled up, flicked it up like he knew it was headed down there somewhere, and he just stood right there in the pocket. That play was unbelievable."

There’s also the simple threat of Lagway’s legs. He didn’t rush much on Saturday, but his ability forced Samford to respect it. Play-action fakes, bootlegs and other moves opened up the passing game so much more, and it’s something defense’s don’t take seriously when Mertz is under center. 

A prime example was Lagway’s first-quarter pass to Elijhah Badger. To be honest, I’m not sure Mertz makes a throw this deep with the accuracy Lagway had. 

What goes up, must come down @DerekLagway 🎯

💻 https://t.co/hB4MreiMiV https://t.co/N06O078xdf pic.twitter.com/qZxZwLVHkg

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) September 7, 2024

Not to mention, Lagway did all of that while battling a minor shoulder injury. 

Again, I know it happened against Samford, a team that lost to West Georgia by nine points the previous week. I get it. The Gators played a much-inferior opponent, but stats don’t lie. Film doesn’t either. 

It’s unclear exactly who will be the starter when Texas A&M rolls into Gainesville next week. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if Napier decides to go back to the experienced Mertz, who has yet to be fully cleared from the concussion protocol. 

All Napier said on Saturday after the game was that Lagway would have a role in every game going forward, and that Mertz wouldn’t be the victim of a Wally Pipp situation (Mertz wouldn’t lose his job because of an injury). 

“I just think it proves what we thought in the beginning,” Napier said. “This guy was a Gatorade National Player of the Year. He's one of the best players in the entire country, and he had the opportunity to play the entire game today, and he is what we thought he was.

“We're going to stay the course, and much like we described in the beginning, we'll have a plan for DJ every week going forward.”

The plan for Lagway to have him as the starter must be the decision.  At this point, Napier is coaching to keep his job amid calls from the fan base to remove him as the head coach. Lagway, however, could be the savior but only if Napier lets him loose.  

“I just want to do what's best for the team,” Lagway said. “ Whatever the team needs me w do, that's what I'm going to do. If I got to carry the ball however many times to get wins in the column, that's what I've got to do.” 

In past coaching tenures, Florida suffered as a result of a head coach choosing a veteran over a more-talented backup. Both Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen chose Franks over Kyle Trask with Trask only starting after Franks suffered an injury. 

He would become one of the Gators’ greatest quarterbacks of all time. 

Mullen, again, made the same mistake by choosing Emory Jones over Anthony Richardson, and by the time he made the switch, it was too late. 

Napier cannot afford to make the same mistake, especially with his job on the line. The Gators must ride the hot hand. 

That hand threw for a freshman record on Saturday. That hand threw for more 40-yard passes in one game than his predecessor did all last season. That hand consistently hit receivers in stride on deep passes. 

That hand belongs to DJ Lagway, and it’s time to let him loose.