Five-star quarterback DJ Lagway talks Florida recruiting pitch, NIL strategy

NASHVILLE – DJ Lagway is well aware he is a five-star quarterback committed to Florida. He still fields calls from Texas A&M and USC nearly every day.

But as he starts to spend time thinking about his brand and NIL opportunities at the college level, he wants to be approachable. And he wants people to understand who he is away from the field.

While high school athletes in the state of Texas are not allowed to sign NIL deals without losing their amateur status, Lagway has started to take steps to build a brand. With the aim to share his story, he’s worked closely with Baller Tribe on a documentary following his recruitment. Episode four of the series was released earlier this week.

The No. 20 prospect in the nation, according to On3, has not let NIL play a factor in his recruitment. But making sure people have an understanding of who he is will be central to his NIL identity in college.

“People can try to get to know the real me,” he told On3 on Tuesday at check-in for the On3 NIL Elite Series. “Getting to know me outside the internet, try to truly really know me. I feel like that’s been a really good step. People get to know the inside of my life and my day-to-day life – all that good stuff.”

Lagway’s father, John Derek Lagwy, played running back for Baylor from 1997 to 2001 under coaches Dave Roberts and Kevin Steele. He has been through the recruitment process before. His son is one of the top-ranked recruits coming out of the Lone Star State.

But there’s more to the quarterback than his elite arm.

“We want people to see who he is,” John Derek Lagway said. “He is a really, really good kid. A leader and trailblazer in our community. We always want to try to help other guys, that’s what it’s all about. I feel like God put him in the situation to help others.”

How DJ Lagway plans to build NIL portfolio

With a strong arm and major upside, coaches can easily envision Lagway making the tough throws look easy. It’s one of the reasons why he is still getting phone calls, despite committing to Florida back in December.

The focus has remained on football. But he knows opportunities will come calling if everything aligns at Florida. Caleb Williams has really set the precedent of what a top-tier quarterback can accomplish. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner has endorsement deals with Athletic Brewing Company, Fanatics, AT&T, Beats by Dre and AC+ION Water. 

Lagway could easily have a similar NIL portfolio in a few years. With nearly 50,000 social media followers and a $625,000 On3 NIL Valuation, he is on the right track.

“My dad handles all that,” he said. “I leave that all to him. I just really just focus on playing ball and just getting better every day.

“NIL should really be, honestly, about what you do on the field. You get rewarded for that. Obviously, I feel like if I do really well on the field, God is gonna bless me with success off the field.”

Focus remains on recruiting for Florida

Lagway has simplified the recruiting pitch to Florida targets: Come to Gainesville. Help rebuild a college football giant. And if NIL is a factor, the deals will certainly follow the on-field performance.

The 23rd overall prospect in the class of 2024 is still locked in with the Gators. Throughout check-in at Tuesday’s On3 NIL Elite Series, he was chatting up fellow prospects about the possibility of coming to Florida.

Lagway will be back in Gainesville this weekend, too.

“It’s huge because I feel like I’m 100% locked in,” the quarterback said. “That stuff doesn’t really matter to me. I just want to let the players know that if I’m wavy about going to the school, it’d be hard for me to recruit other players that come, so I make sure to let people know that I’m 100% locked in because I can get guys to build this thing up to what it used to be.”

Florida is still in the mix for some of the top prospects in the 2024 recruiting class. Five-Star Plus+ wide receiver and Ohio State commit Jeremiah Smith is making a visit to Gainesville this weekend with Lagway.

Five-Star Plus+ EDGE Colin Simmons has yet to make a decision. LSU and Texas appear to be the leaders entering June, however, Lagway was chatting up the No. 3 overall prospect throughout Tuesday. Simmons is not ruling the Gators out just yet.

Lagway sticks to talking about what his peers could do with him on the field at Florida. But he does remind them of what can come with a strong on-field product.

“First off, I really don’t even start off with the NIL stuff,” he said. “For me, that’s not really a big deal for me. Mainly, I’m just talking about what we could do on the field, and I know that what you do on the field will give in to what you make off of it.

“I’m saying ball out. Take care of what you need to take care of basically.”