Gators in Eerily Familiar Territory With Lagway Set To Face Georgia

The Gators have a freshman quarterback up against a tough Georgia team. Last time that didn't end well, but they aren't destined to repeat history.

A Gators freshman QB set to start against Georgia doesn't have a track record that will leave fans at ease. / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the 2021-22 season, the Florida Gators walked into EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville with a redshirt freshman starting at quarterback against the Georgia Bulldogs. Unfortunately for them, that game didn’t end too well. 

Three seasons later and the Gators find themselves in a nearly identical situation. When they face off against No. 2 Georgia on Saturday, they will have true freshman DJ Lagway leading the offense. 

For the Gators' sake, they will be hoping for a different outcome. In Richardson's start against, the Georgia, Florida was smacked 34-7 and trailed 24-0 at halftime.

However, this time it feels a little different. Most know what Lagway is capable of doing. With Anthony Richardson, it was a complete unknown. Lagway will have had significantly more snaps under his belt than Richardson did at the time leading up to this game. 

Having played in every game this year for the Gators, Lagway has thrown the ball 86 times. At this same point, Richardson had only attempted 37 passes. Additionally, this will be Lagway’s third career start for the Gators. Richardson’s start against the Bulldogs was the first of his career. 

While Richardson might have been a better playmaker with his legs, Lagway looks to be the better passer by far. For example, we have seen Lagway’s greater accuracy on deep balls. Just last week he completed seven total passes and five of them were for 40 yards or more. 

Also, Lagway has already posted 1,024 yards in just seven games (2 starts). In one of those games he passed for 456 yards and in his most recent one, he threw for 259. During the 2021-22 season alone, Richardson ended with just 529 total passing yards. 

This early experience is key as it leads to quicker development and that is something we’ve seen from Lagway week after week. He has seen different coverages, built chemistry with teammates and now has a better understanding of how the offense should be run. 

Experience isn’t everything though. Lagway will need to be composed and trust the offense and his teammates, which he has shown he can throughout the season. 

But if the Bulldogs' defense gets to him like they did against the Texas quarterbacks, then this might be a long day for the Gators and their star freshman.