Pete Thamel expects DJ Lagway to play a lot for Florida regardless of Graham Mertz's injury status

After Florida played both quarterbacks in their opener, the Gators may be seeing even more of their backup on Saturday.

Pete Thamel provided an update on Graham Mertz during Tuesday afternoon’s College Football Live. He shared that the team is waiting to see if Mertz makes it through concussion protocol to determine whether he can play this weekend against Samford.

CLICK HERE to go to PrizePicks and use code ON3 to receive a guaranteed $50 once you play $5 in lineups!

“As for Florida’s Graham Mertz, there’s some intrigue as to whether he’ll play or not this weekend against Samford,” said Thamel. “Mertz suffered a concussion and he’s in protocol. Florida has been very open about this. He has to proceed through protocol before being cleared to play on Saturday.”

Mertz left in the third quarter in the loss against Miami. His diagnosis was for a concussion following the game with updates coming throughout this week regarding him and his availability.

Watch College Football Games Live -Try for Free Fubo! Click HERE NOW

Before his exit, Mertz went 11-for-20 (55%) for 91 yards and an interception.

If Mertz is unavailable or limited in any way, DJ Lagway would likely be Florida’s starting QB in their second game against the Bulldogs. However, even if Mertz is back, Thamel says the true freshman would be getting significant snaps at the position either way in order to potentially provide some much-needed positivity in The Swamp.

“From the big picture, whether he’s cleared or not, we’re going to see a lot of DJ Lagway,” Thamel added. “He’s the five-star freshman who’s the face of the future for Florida – which needs an injection of optimism.”

Lagway entered off the sideline in Mertz’s place and saw his first collegiate action against the Hurricanes. In his 15 snaps, he went 3/6 (50%) for 31 yards and his own pick. He also rushed for 20 yards with a long of 16.

Now, with Mertz still unavailable to start this week, Lagway will be taking first-team reps at quarterback for Florida. The team sounds ready for it too based on how he has performed heading into practice ahead of their second game.

With a smaller opponent on the schedule, Lagway would have hopefully played at some point anyway to gain experience. However, while that may still be the case for him, it also could be out of necessity depending on the status of Mertz over the next few days before kickoff.