DJ Lagway Named Starter for Florida Gators | Expert Weighs In

it is The Changing of the Guard for my Gators albeit maybe just for a week or so and it's because of injury but prize freshman DJ lagway will make the first start of his career as Graham Merz is still in the concussion protocol lagway saw game time last week against Miami and even led the Gators to a touchdown unfortunately we did get beat handedly by the Hurricanes uh the program we are down bad right now but maybe a sense of excitement can come along with DJ lagway getting extended play you see the numbers of how he led things out did have an interception a lot of pressure came his way when he threw that but completed three of his six passes got it done with his feet and with his arm as well and we'll see how things can play in the swamp against a lower level Sanford coming up here on Saturday in the swamp to help get us even more ready for this game we're now bring in Andrew Ivans and Andrew of course I'm just excited for a chance to see something that maybe can give us a glimpse of hope uh for gator moving forward but what do you think we can expect to see from lagway on Saturday against Samford well he's an extremely gifted quarterback I thought DJ lagway had the best senior season out of anyone in America last year that's why he finished as our number one ranked quarterback and that's why he was the Gatorade National player of the year when you look at him he kind of looks like a linebacker 6'2 225 lbs he's a multiport kid he actually had an offer to pitch at Houston as a freshman before he he turned his Focus to football he can dial up the RPMs and the big thing throughout the evaluation process with DJ lagway he needed to improve as a passer and we saw that in his senior season this is a kid that was 10 and 10 in high school as a senior he improves in every key statistical category leads his team to its best record in over 60 years and he sets the Texas 6A record with 59 touchdown passes so he's a guy where the arrow is pointing up you mentioned he got his feet wet against Miami from what I heard the Gators were planning to play DJ regardless of what happened in the game he had about 10 to 12 plays ready to go so this is a kid that Billy and Napier in the Gators have believed in for a while now I was at the game last weekend against Miami so saw when he came in and you could see just a little bit of a difference between him and Merz at how fast lague was getting the ball out and just able to maybe give some type of spark to the offense that really had nothing going at all against the Hurricanes you look for maybe a pro comparison who would you say is that comp for lagway well Zach you and I think the rest of Gator Nation are going to like this one he reminds us of Anthony Richardson that was the comp coming out of high school I talked about the size both of those individuals big dudes but what they can do is they can beat defenses with both their arm and their legs uh you know blackway a dangerous Scrambler he can power through Defenders and break tackles but he's also effective on design runs as well if you want to get some rpos going you mentioned DJ gets the ball out fast he can do that I think for Florida one of their biggest issues is that offensive line you know Billy Napier I was at a coaching Clinic back in February he told a room full of 200 High School coaches that he felt like his program finally had some offensive tackles I looked down at the roster I was kind of confused by what he meant turns out I was right we saw it against Miami they had their way at the point of attack so I think the biggest thing that DJ lagway is going to bring to the table is he's able to uh create an escape from pressure and that's something that the gator had with Anthony Richardson uh someone that can extend and make plays on the run so that's the player comp for him I also think you know there's a little cam Ward to DJ lag's game and obviously DJ lagway is not going to be as comfortable as the Miami quarterback who had his way in the swamp but he's a guy that can also change the arm angles and he can rip it down the field I'm talking I've seen DJ lagway hit passes 40 50 yards and the other thing that stands out cam Ward and DJ lagway both from Texas both trained with the same guy back home I think that the part that you brought up about Billy Napier talking to a crowd full of people and that seemed like kind of what was doing all year long is pumping up the Gators saying that we were going to be good this year we certainly were not good last week um the the videos out there circulating with Miami recruit recuits uh telling Florida recruits hey don't go there and all those things recruits are always watching what do you think a move like this even if it's just for a week that he starts means to someone who's committed like Vernell brow III the wide receiver and other people who might just have the eyes on the Florida program with all the attention that Napier has been getting well here's the reality I mean Billy Napier and Florida have lost sixth straight that is the longest active losing streak for power forward programs and it hasn't really been exciting so I think the bigger question is what happens if DJ lague looks the part against Stanford on Saturday what if he goes out and accumulates 400 yards of total offense and scores a bunch of touchdowns I think that's going to create a scenario where Florida the following week they host Texas A&M what does Billy Napier do let's assume Graham Merz is finally healthy does he go with graham Merz or does he go with DJ lagway I think that's a big question and I don't get paid to make these decisions but I think you can make the case for DJ lag because of everything we've talked about he's a dual threat athlete he's someone that can get away from the pressure your know your offensive line is not great and DJ lagway he might not be able to win you every game but I think he's going to give you some opportunities and some chances that hey maybe Grant BS who is a very very good quarterback uh in his own sense can't do the other thing with DJ lagway he's a very polarizing Prospect this is a kid that was on the camp circuit he was on the seven on seven circuit you mentioned Vernell Brown some of those other recruits that were in the swamp this past weekend they all know who DJ lagway is heck he's in a Gatorade commercial so if they see DJ lag lagway having success I think it makes it much easier for Billy Napier to sell the future of the program hey we got our quarterback we're turning things around we need some more Talent so we'll see what happens I think the big question though is if DJ lague has success this Saturday what happens the following week against the aies yeah we know how tough that schedule is it will not let up after Sanford and just any sense of hope is what we are wishing for with Gator Nation because we are not feeling too good right now Andrew Ivans thank you so much for tapping in with us as we get ready to see DJ lagway out there in the swamp getting the start uh 247 Sports always has you covered with water wall team coverage you can find out who maybe the next DJ lagway is coming up looking at recruiting rankings and also transfer portal if your school needs to bring in some new Talent go ahead and lock in with them to get all your fixes yes