DJ Lagway injury: Billy Napier reveals how Florida QB felt coming out of LSU game

Florida freshman quarterback DJ Lagway returned to action this past weekend against LSU after being injured on Nov. 2 against Georgia and missing the Texas game the following week.

Lagway wasn’t 100 percent healthy against the Tigers as he continues to work his way back to full strength from a hamstring injury, but he was still able to lead Florida to a win over the rival Tigers.

Gators head coach Billy Napier spoke with reporters on Monday and shared how DJ Lagway is doing from a health standpoint.

“Well, I mean, I think he didn’t miss a rep with the first unit last week. So we’ll take the same approach this week,” Billy Napier said. “You know, I think the soft tissue injury, again, those are very subjective, so we got every gadget that you can imagine downstairs. So I mean, I think we’re using all that data and all those metrics to make decisions to try to put him in position to be the healthiest he can be.” 

Napier added that even though DJ Lagway still isn’t 100 percent healthy, he is making progress and working towards getting to that point.

“So yea, I mean, just day-to-day,” Napier said. “He didn’t have a setback. And I think he feels a little bit better at this point in the week than he did last week.”

Lagway threw for 226 yards and a touchdown for the Gators in a 27-16 victory over LSU. He has proven to be a capable dual-threat quarterback during his freshman season, but since he wasn’t 100 percent healthy against the Tigers, he didn’t have a rushing attempt.

“I think that was part of the message, was like, ‘Look, this is part of the challenge. Can you evolve as a player? Can you play a little shorthanded. And this will be good for your development as a whole,’” Napier explained. “Now don’t get me wrong, I think he did extend the play, he did move in the pocket, he did a really good job in that regard. But I thought overall he handled it pretty well.”

Napier added that he was pleased with the way Lagway played and as he continues to get healthier, Napier expects him to continue to improve his play.

“There were a handful of plays out there, missed opportunities, where he could have had a big day,” Napier said. “So he’s still a young player. He’s still evolving. And I think that was a good kind of experience for him long term that he could lean on in the future.”