DJ Lagway throws first TD pass as a Gator
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA — Heralded freshman Florida quarterback DJ Lagway has thrown his first touchdown pass as a Gator. He had to wait a little while to get it.
Touchdown strike No. 1 came early in the second half Saturday night at The Swamp vs. Samford. Lagway, making his first career college start, connected with receiver Tank Hawkins, also a freshman, for a 36-yard score with 13:38 left in the third quarter to give the Gators a 21-0 lead.
Lagway nearly got his first Gators TD pass in the first quarter when he completed a 77-yard pass to Elijhah Bader to the Samford 3. Florida running back Montrell Johnson Jr. scored on a 1-yard run two plays later.
After his TD pass to Hawkins, Lagway was 10 of 14 for 267 yards. He later added a 41-yard touchdown toss to Aidan Mizell and got another touchdown throw on a jet sweep touch pass to Eugene Wilson, which covered 85 yards. He finished the game 18 of 25 for 456 yards and three touchdowns.
A year ago at this time, Lagway was just starting his senior season in Willis, Tx., a town about 45 minutes north of Houston. And in one game after the other in 2023, he would be nothing short of spectacular. When his remarkable 13-game stretch was over, Lagway had passed for 4,631 yards, 58 touchdowns and 6 interceptions while completing 72.1 percent of his attempts. And, he added 975 rushing yards as his team went 12-1.
Lagway enrolled at Florida in January as the No. 1 QB recruit in the country for the On3 Industry Rankings and the Gatorade National Player of the Year. He did well enough during the offseason to be the No. 2 quarterback behind returning starter Graham Mertz. But when Mertz sustained a concussion in the third quarter of a Week-1 loss to Miami, Lagway saw his first action for Florida. He was 3-of-6 passing for 31 yards and an interception, added four carries for 20 yards and led the Gators on one scoring drive.
Earlier this week, it was determined Mertz could not play Saturday, which thrust Lagway into the starting role.
“It’s like we’re in a dream, to be honest with you, man,” Lagway’s father, Derek Lagway Sr., told On3’s Pete Nakos. “I wasn’t expecting him to get out there this soon and start. We have Graham Mertz. He’s been a blessing to DJ and our family. DJ has been learning a lot from him. Like I told DJ, be patient, be ready and be a great teammate.”
Meanwhile, J.P. Tillman, the longtime private coach of Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway, had lofty expectations for his protégé. “I feel like he was born to do this,” Tillman told Gators Online.
![Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier walks during the first half at the Orange and Blue spring football game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, April 13, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://on3static.com/cdn-cgi/image/height=215,width=393,quality=90,fit=cover,gravity=0.5x0.5/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/04/18141240/Untitled-design-72-2.png)
