Motivated to win, DJ Lagway is the nation's top uncommitted QB in 2024

DJ Lagway is in the midst of his best high school season yet.

The elite junior quarterback has orchestrated the Willis (Texas) offense to the tune of 1,872 yards passing and 22 touchdowns compared to five interceptions. Lagway has completed 69 percent (115 of 167) of his passes while also piling up 441 yards and seven more scores rushing. His 2,313 all-purpose yardage leads a star-studded Texas district that features four-star QB Mabrey Mettauer and four-star RB Kedrick Reescano.

Lagway’s ascent has vaulted him into On3’s updated top 10 for the 2024 recruiting cycle. The nation’s No. 8 overall recruit is officially the top uncommitted quarterback in the country.

Winning started in the offseason

When Trent Miller arrived at Willis in the spring, Lagway might’ve possessed the talent to be a top-10 player nationally. He definitely had the mindset.

As a junior, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Lagway passed for 1,600 yards with an impressive 17:2 touchdown to interception ratio. He also tacked on another 700-plus yards on the ground with six touchdowns, but “nothing that made you go wow,” the quarterback argued.

Lagway honed in on his ability to operate Miller’s cerebral passing attack that routinely features four receivers spread out wide and leans on the quarterback to diagnose defenses, make the right reads, and execute accordingly. Since April, nobody has grasped the offense better than Lagway.

“The freakish stats weren’t there, and DJ was concerned about being labeled as an athlete and being recruited by his potential. He wanted to focus in on his craft as a quarterback,” Miller told On3. “I’ve been coaching for 15 years and he’s the most talented quarterback and most quality young man I’ve been around. He’s the whole package if you put it all together. I’ve never been around a kid who wants it more for himself and also his whole team.”

Before his season debut, On3 was on-site at Willis to ask Lagway about his goals for the year. “Win,” he responded.

Over the past few months, Lagway has doubled down with his play and his team’s success. The Wildkats are 5-3 (4-2) and continuing to find their stride behind their quarterback’s leadership. That’s the element of Lagway’s game that can’t be accounted for in the box score or in the updated On300, though it’s been an enormous part of his impact.

“He wants to what he can do to get exposure for his teammates, for Willis to have the right image, for Montgomery County, and for a 17-year-old to ask what he can for his teammates and his town, and nothing about himself, is unbelievable,” Miller said of Lagway, who last week completed 27-of-30 attempts for 387 yards and five touchdowns.

“He wanted to be a better quarterback, and with that, a better teammate. The strides he’s made from a quarterback perspective is unbelievable. What he does with the ball, how he understands how to read a defense, how to prep his teammates on a daily basis, it’s unbelievable.”

Lagway has equal parts talent and leadership

One of the central figures in Willis is Athletic Director Jason Glenn, a former NFL and Texas A&M linebacker who led a successful stint heading the football program at nearby Klein (Texas) Oak before moving over to Montgomery County last year. Glenn won’t lie if you ask if being a part of Lagway’s development wasn’t an intriguing part of taking the position.

It all started with his parents, and if Lagway’s development started at home.

“He’s an amazing kid. What you see is what you get with him,” Glenn said. “There’s no doubt in mind DJ gets his personality and sense of family, of the community from mom and dad.”

Dad, Derek Lagway Sr., is a former Baylor Bear and has unofficially assumed the role of Willis’ team dad this season. The Lagways have made several visits around the SEC from Florida twice to Texas A&M, LSU, Arkansas and to the Cotton Bowl, and they’ve never traveled lightly.

The Lagways have packed the car with teammates each weekend, about five or six, and are up to about 30 total teammates alongside DJ on SEC road trips, and they’ve footed the bills for meals, gas, hotel rooms. And it’s going to continue next week as they head to Clemson.

As DJ navigates through one of the most crucial stretches in his recruitment, the family has kept his teammates and community nearby to continue to serve a bigger purpose.

“Whatever trip he takes, he takes four or five teammates to give other players exposure and keep them hungry for the next level,” Miller said. “He shows them what it looks like and they can see it with their own eyes. DJ’s Dad knows and understands his son is a special player and a special human being, and since the season started the conversation has changed to see what DJ can do to get other kids exposure. I’ve never seen a parent do that or want what’s best for everyone.”

“They’re unbelievable people,” he added. “I’ve never witnessed the type of service they put in for the entire team.”

Those principles are engraved in Lagway and his objectives are rarely swayed. The highly sought-after quarterback in next year’s recruiting cycle plays cool under all sorts of pressure. He’s embraced putting the community on his shoulders.

“What motivates me is caring for my family,” DJ told On3. “Knowing that if I do well and I can make plays, I can help my teammates. It’s bigger than me. It’s a whole town thing. I can change the atmosphere of the town and bring back the winning culture to Willis.”

That big-picture perspective has served him well on the field and also as he navigates his recruitment. Lagway knows where his talent can take him but has kept more factors in mind, a testament to his upbringing.

“Derek’s really paid attention to to the small things with DJ – the life messages with him, how to be a great man, how to be a great father,” Glenn said. “He’s a college athlete, of course, with the type of notoriety he’s getting, but Derek has taught him how to be a man, how to treat his family, how to shake a man’s hand, how to lead. He’s gonna be a provider one day for his family, a protector for his family.”

“Derek has taken it on and been there really every step of the way. He’s not a helicopter dad; he lets him be a kid, and when you talk to DJ, he doesn’t forget he’s still in high school and it’s fun to be a kid. After high school, it becomes a business.”

Florida, Clemson headline the contenders

The first order of business will is picking a school. Lagway narrowed his field of contenders down to 10 earlier this fall. That includes Florida, where the Lone Star State native recently returned from for a second time in as many months.

Billy Napier and the Gators have made the face of Willis a top priority on their recruiting board.

“He’s raved about the environment in the Swamp and being a priority there,” Miller said of his quarterback. “There’s no way to say Florida hasn’t done the best job recruiting him. Everyone is doing a great job and you can’t miss from these colleges, these atmospheres, and these educations, but Florida has done a good job from a cultural standpoint. They blow him up on Twitter and they have fraternity and sorority houses hanging signs for ‘Lagway To the Swamp’ and 100,000 people screaming his name. They’ve done a good job letting him know he’s the dude we want and to make him feel at home.”

Clemson has been equally as consistent keeping pace with Lagway, who is one of two quarterbacks in the 2024 cycle with an offer from Dabo Swinney. Swinney is personally leading the Tigers’ pursuit of Lagway, who will have a chance to see the team live this weekend for the Syracuse showdown.

“Florida and Clemson have probably done the best in the recruiting game,” Miller noted. “Swinney has done a tremendous job of staying in contact with him and he’s connected with Dabo on a spiritual level.”

LSU, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Arkansas have all hosted Lagway for visits this season. After taking in the Clemson tilt this weekend, only Alabama and USC are left on Lagway’s checklist of fall visits.

“Jeff Lebby has done a tremendous job of following up and checking in. He’s a Texas guy and that helps a lot,” Miller said. “Lincoln Riley and his QB coach have done great keeping their connection. So has Coach (Joe) Sloan at LSU.”

“It’s like a buffet with DJ,” Glenn joked. “You walk the line and they put it on his plate, and you go from there. He’s blessed to be in this position and enjoy the recruiting process, and he has great options.”

New timeline for a decision

As visits pick up and trends develop, Lagway’s kept a commitment date in the back of his mind. Midway through his junior season, Lagway has a new timeframe for a decision.

The elite junior quarterback had originally planned for an April commitment. He’s since moved up that timeline to January so that he can get a headstart assembling a recruiting class around him and forging those relationships.

“It’s getting earlier,” Lagway said of his timeline. “I want to be able to get this going and start recruiting for my class. I wanna get to a few more schools and get the game-day atmosphere. These visits play a big part for me as I evaluate the schools I’m really looking into,” he continued. “After the season, I’ll take a couple of weeks to check out some schools.”

Then the nation’s top uncommitted quarterback is on the clock.