When it comes to college debuts for true freshmen quarterbacks, there won’t be many better performances than the one that five-star D.J. Lagway put together for the Florida Gators in their 45-7 win over Samford in Week 2.
Lagway, who started in place of an injured Graham Mertz, did nothing to quiet the hype around, tossing for 456 yards and three touchdowns, while completing 72 percent of his passes on Saturday.
The No. 1 quarterback recruit in the Class of 2024, Lagway was an explosive machine, averaging 18.2 yards per attempt, while completing six passes for at least 30 yards in an impressive performance for the Gators.
Moreover, Lagway easily broke the prior school record for passing yards by a freshman, crushing Chris Leak’s mark of 268 yards, which was set back in 2003.
With a strong performance in Week 3, the true freshman is already creating questions around the starting quarterback position at Florida, already topping Graham Mertz’s career-high in passing yards in a single game.
Mertz struggled in the season opener against the Miami Hurricanes, tossing for just 91 yards and an interception on 11 of 20 passing before sustaining a concussion that prompted Lagway to enter the game.
Ahead of Florida’s Week 3 matchup against Texas A&M, head coach Billy Napier affirmed that the plan is to use both quarterbacks, should Mertz clear the concussion protocol.
“Our intention the entire time has been to play DJ [Lagway] in every game,” Napier said. “Obviously, he gets a little bit more experienced each week. For him to have the opportunity to be the starter, prepare with the 1s and then go play and the way he did that, the poise, the composure, it shows he’s ready to do what we intend to do with him going forward. There’s no doubt both these guys will make us harder to defend.”
There’s been a lot of these dynamics over the years in terms of having a veteran player who’s accomplished, who’s had a good career that’s coming back, who’s in a leadership role and then you’ve got this young talent,” Napier added. “We’re going to do what’s in the best interest of the team. Both these players can make our team better. The great thing about it is there’s a great relationship there. There’s confidence, there’s humility from both guys and I think there’s a healthy respect from the team and the staff for both players.”
However, the head coach was certainly impressed by Lagway’s first start, sharing that “he is what we thought he was” after the game.
“I’m ecstatic we’ve got a good young player in the building,” Napier affirmed. “We all know he’s very talented. I’m hopeful he can do that on any stage against any opponent.”
If he continues to play like he did against Samford, Lagway will make it tougher and tougher to deny him playing time, as he showed all the signs of being the future for Florida with his strong start on Saturday.
Given Florida’s extremely tough schedule this season, with several matchups against top-25 teams, including ones against the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs and the No. 2 Texas Longhorns, the Gators may ultimately need to just ride with the option that best allows them to win football games.
Regardless, the D.J. Lagway era has only just started, with much more to likely come in his true freshman season.
