Florida Reveals Starting QB vs. Texas A&M

The Florida Gators have reportedly made their starting quarterback decision ahead of Saturday's SEC opener against the Texas A&M Aggies.

Sep 7, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) throws the ball against the Samford Bulldogs during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

The Texas A&M Aggies and Florida Gators both enter Saturday's SEC opener in Gainsville with injury questions at the quarterback position, but the home team has put some of those concerns to bed.

Per CBS Sports reporter Matt Zenitz, Florida quarterback Graham Mertz will get the start against the Aggies after missing last week's win over Samford due to an injury. Freshman DJ Lagway took his place and led Florida to a 45-7 win thanks to a 456-yard passing performance.

Though Mertz will start, Zenitz reports that Lagway could still receive some playing time against Texas A&M.

Aug 31, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (15) runs with the ball out of the pocket against the Miami Hurricanes during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Mertz, who is in his sixth season of college, is playing his second year with the Gators after transferring from Wisconsin. Last season with Florida, he went 261 of 358 passing for 2,903 yards, 20 touchdowns and three interceptions. He added four rushing touchdowns.

As for the Aggies, Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman popped up on Thursday's availability report with an undisclosed injury and is being listed as questionable to play.

It's uncertain what kind of injury Weigman is dealing with and what the severity is. If he's unable to play or exits during the game for any reason, Marcel Reed would likely step in at quarterback. He got some much-needed playing time in the blowout win over McNeese State.

"We wanted to kind of make that change early to let Marcel go out there and get some quality reps before we went to the full second string," Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said this week. "So he got the drive at the end of the first half he got the drive at the start of the second half, and then we really started emptying the bench on offense, but it was really good for him to get out there and get those those drives with those guys."

Texas A&M and Florida will kick off from "The Swamp" on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT.