Billy Napier believes DJ Lagway is more comfortable in Florida system

Graham Mertz is the quarterback of the present for Florida, leading them into a critical season under head coach Billy Napier. But DJ Lagway is considered the future and may even find a way to contribute this year. No matter his on-field contribution, Lagway’s progress is going to be heavily tracked by those in Gainesville.

Napier spoke on the true freshman’s recent growth, saying there is a lot more comfort in the system. Not perfect by any means but Lagway is steadily improving. Exactly what a Florida fan would want to hear shortly into fall camp and just a few weeks away from the regular season.

“Just overall comfort level of the system, I would say,” Napier said on Lagway’s growth. “I had a conversation with him the other day coming off and said ‘I know that wasn’t perfect, the practice day is never perfect. But just think about where you’re at now compared to where you were at after spring.’ … I think he made tremendous growth. Knowledge of defense.”

Top programs across the country were vying for Lagway during the recruiting process. His traits were unlike anybody else in the 2024 recruiting class, good enough to see him rank as the No. 3 overall prospect and a Five-Star Plus+ per the On3 Industry Rankings.

Lagway still had some things to polish up on when arriving on campus, though. After all, what freshman does not need to work on technique before stepping on a college field — especially at quarterback?

Napier is more than happy with the progress Lagway has shown fundamentally over the past few months. A different player is currently on the Florida practice field than one that showed up ahead of spring practice.

“I think he’s improved fundamentally too,” Napier said on Saturday. “I think the ball is coming out more consistently. His feet have been polished up. He’s getting better.”

While it’s been nearly two decades, Florida does have some experience having high-level success with two quarterbacks in the program. Napier is hoping to find a way to incorporate Lagway at some point, the talent is too much to deny.

However, making sure the freshman is ready is the top priority. Sounds like progress is certainly being made and Lagway has been able to settle in. It will only get better as the practices continue to reach different levels of intensity before the season opener vs. Miami.