How Billy Napier's plan for Graham Mertz, DJ Lagway hearkens back to Chris Leak, Tim Tebow

Few things in sports get a fanbase more excited than the prospect of a five-star quarterback taking over a program. For Florida freshman DJ Lagway, that’s simply a reality of life he’ll have to deal with.

Another reality: The Gators already have a very good starting quarterback in senior Graham Mertz.

Those two facts — coupled with Lagway’s skill set and immense potential, of course — should make for an interesting 2024 campaign for coach Billy Napier and company. How do they manage the star freshman, keeping him happy and in good spirits, while playing the currently more proven option?

“There’s so many reasons why you want to get DJ in the game,” GatorsOnline reporter Zach Abolverdi said on the Andy Staples On3 show. “For his experience, for the amount of money that you’re paying him, fans want to see him, recruits want to see him, and No. 1 most importantly on that list, if he can make the Gators better and make an impact, they’re going to put him in the game. And I think they will.”

Florida fans are no stranger to star freshman quarterbacks. Tim Tebow was once one, serving his role as a freshman before bursting into outright stardom as a sophomore starter.

Could DJ Lagway be headed for a similar usage in 2024?

“They’ve got packages planned for him,” Abolverdi said. “It’s going to be something that keeps defensive coordinators on their toes. And one thing that won’t be like the Tebow dynamic is it’s not like he’s just going to come in there and run. When Tebow was a true freshman, you knew what he was going to do.

“DJ’s going to throw a lot of pretty balls, and he’s a dual-threat guy that is going to be something that Graham can’t provide. All those reasons I just went into is why you’re going to see him on the field.”

There’s a new wrinkle now, though, that didn’t exist when Tebow was in school. At least not officially anyway.

Players can be paid via NIL. And Lagway will easily be among Florida’s top earners. That provides an added incentive to get him on the field as early as possible.

“There’s going to be a role. I think one thing that we’ve got to be honest about, Andy, which is different now in this day and age, in the NIL era, is just the amount of money that is being paid to DJ Lagway, just to be honest with you,” Abolverdi said. “That much that he’s been brought here for, to have him sit on the bench being the type of weapon he is, it doesn’t do Florida any good. I think just for that reason alone, as well as for his future development, setting the Gators up for success in 2025, as well as having him make an impact this season, I think there’s so many reasons why you want to play DJ Lagway.

“Here’s another reason why: When recruits come to the Swamp and see all these games that they’ve got on their slate, they want to meet with DJ Lagway. And that’s no disrespect to Graham Mertz, but DJ Lagway is going to be the guy that they would be playing with in the years to come.”

So are you ready for Leak-Bow 2.0?

You should be, even if it doesn’t look exactly the same the second time around.

“The dynamic is a little bit different now. But again, there is so much riding on DJ Lagway,” Abolverdi said. “He is the most hyped recruit for Florida since Tim Tebow, and you’re going to see him on the field. Again, if he’s not earning it, and he’s not somebody that can make a difference they’re not just going to throw him out there and force it, because every time you put him in you’re taking Graham Mertz off the field. So it’s got to make sense, but I think it will for Florida and for DJ.”