Billy Napier credits Aidan Warner for stepping up after injury to DJ Lagway vs. Georgia

The Florida Gators lost quarterback DJ Lagway to an injury against Georgia. With that, head coach Billy Napier was forced to turn to his third quarterback, Aidan Warner, to try and upset the Bulldogs.

Following the game, Billy Napier took the time to praise Warner and credit him for stepping up when Lagway went down with the injury.

“First of all, hats off to Aidan Warner,” Billy Napier said. “We’re talking about a guy who didn’t go through spring practice. Really did a lot of two-spot work in training camp. Won the backup job or won the three job at some point in training camp. Then, two weeks ago started taking real reps with the second unit. So, two weeks of work with the second unit.”

It was a difficult position for Warner to be thrown into and he finished the game completing seven of 22 pass attempts for 66 yards and an interception. He also rushed for -10 yards on four carries, with sacks counting toward that number.

“For him to be able to go operate today, obviously made some plays, made a handful of mistakes. They’re a really good group on defense. We all understand that and know that, personnel and schematically. Yeah, it’s apparent that there was some challenges there, but the guy made some plays. We literally tied it up. Didn’t turn it over until late. Threw it away when he needed to. Leaned on the defense,” Napier said.

“I thought [Jeremy] Crawshaw was outstanding. We played field position throughout. Yeah, he was one of many like him that stepped up for the team.”

Aidan Warner played his high school football at Winter Park High School outside of Orlando. There, he was a three-star recruit and the 112th-ranked quarterback in the Class of 2023, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He initially came to Florida as a transfer from Yale in the Spring of 2024 as a walk-on. He previously appeared in games against Samford and Kentucky this season. That came after he took a redshirt in 2023 with Yale.

Billy Napier shared an encouraging update on DJ Lagway

The injury to DJ Lagway looked severe, with Lagway needing to be carted off the field and returning later on crutches. Now, luckily, Billy Napier has shared an encouraging update on the injury.

“The good news is we have positive information on that front,” Napier said. “We do think that the injury is less significant, we do think there’s a pathway for recovery and a return.”

Notably, to this point, Napier hasn’t ruled Lagway out for next week’s game against Texas. However, if he is unable to play, it will likely be Warner stepping in again for the Gators.