Billy Napier credits freshmen DJ Lagway, Jadan Baugh for stepping up in win vs. Kentucky

With injuries to its veterans, Florida relied on a couple of freshmen to lead it to victory against Kentucky on Saturday. Quarterback DJ Lagway and running back Jadan Baugh stepped into starting roles with Graham Mertz and Montrell Johnson out and helped the Gators cruise to a dominant 48-20 win.

Florida scored 21 unanswered points to end the game, turning a one-touchdown lead into an eventual four-score win. Speaking with SEC Network postgame, coach Billy Napier had praise for the way both Lagway and Baugh rose to the occasion.

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“It’s exciting to see some of that hard work is paying off,” he said. “Our personnel department, our on-campus recruiting, the staff. Some of those young players are really good. Both those kids are incredible people, too. Humble, talented and stepped up. We’re without Graham. We’re without Montrell. Not only did they play well, they were lights out.”

Lagway had previously started in Week 2 against Samford and also played sparingly behind Mertz throughout this season. He finished Saturday’s win 7-of-14 passing for 259 yards and an interception in addition to rushing for 46 yards.

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It was Baugh, however, who really stole the show.

The running back finished with 106 yards rushing and five touchdowns, tying the single-game school record. Florida finished with 197 ground yards on the day while averaging 4.5 yards per carry, and Napier said it was a deliberate effort to establish an identity running the ball.

“I think it’s part of who we want to be,” he said. “It’s an identity. It’s gotta be in our DNA. If we want to be a championship contender here, we’ve gotta be really good on the line of scrimmage and we played good around them. Up front, the tight ends, the quarterback. Everybody contributed.”

With the win, Florida improved to 4-3 (2-2 SEC). Napier is proud of the way his team responded coming off of the injuries and an overtime loss to Tennessee last week, and hopes it will set the tone going forward.

“I think No. 1 is just the resiliency that this group has shown,” he said. “They’ve been through a lot. They’ve been beat up. They’ve been talked about. For them to continue to work in the fashion they have been working, and again, it’s the way we compete. It’s how hard we play.

“That’s gotta be part of our DNA. But I’m just proud of the resiliency of the group. For them to go through what they went through last week and to show up this week, it’s pretty special.”