The First SEC Start For DJ Lagway Won't Be His First SEC Test

DJ Lagway is the Prince that Billy Napier Promised. The No. 3 player in the 2024 recruiting class has been the ace in the hole for the maligned Florida head coach since he was a recruit starring in Gatorade ads. Napier’s future in Gainesville is riding on Lagway’s success, and now it’s No. 2’s time to shine.

Graham Mertz suffered a torn ACL in the loss to Tennessee last week, ending the former Wisconsin Badger’s season. Lagway will get his first SEC start against Kentucky, but it’s not his experience in a big-time atmosphere. He became the first true freshman to start for the Gators since 2014 when Mertz suffered a concussion ahead of the Samford game.

“The week that he was the starter he put on a show,” Napier said Monday. “The guy’s a rookie and now it’s his show. I think he’s going to work extremely hard.

“He’s been preparing as if he was one play away from being the guy the whole time. That’s been the message and the mentality since the very beginning. So, the work that he’s done since day one I think will all pay off.”

Lagway had 456 yards and three touchdowns against the FCS foe in his first career start. It’s been a different story against Power Four conference competition. In five other appearances, he’s completed 29 passes for 309 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions. Things really got dicey against Texas A&M (a defense that shares a lot of similarities to Kentucky) when he was 6 of 14 for 54 yards and a pair of picks.

Similar Style of Offense with Either Florida QB

When you have a Top 5 player at quarterback, you gotta find reps for him early and often. Even before Kentucky knew Mertz was out, Mark Stoops was preparing for a heavy dose of DJ Lagway.

“They’ve been playing both quarterbacks and seem to be very similar in their style. Obviously, Graham had a lot more experience, but DJ is a talent,” Stoops said Monday.

“I think that throw alone that you saw, the talent that he has is going to give him a lot of confidence to put that game in overtime (at Tennessee). And the way he not only has great athletic ability, big strong guy, but the throw that he made to tie that game is quite impressive and so we knew going into the game we have to be ready for both anyway and now it’s on him.”

The throw Stoops was referring to was pretty darn impressive. Lagway delivered a dart in the final seconds to tie the game at Tennessee. The Gators did not go for the two-point conversion, ultimately falling 23-17 in overtime at Neyland Stadium.

.@DerekLagway TO @chimdk11

📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/fxCxi5XJar

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 13, 2024

“There is some excitement in terms of DJ and what he’s been able to accomplish thus far. I think he’ll be much more prepared having started a game, but also having played in each game this season. So, we’ll be a little bit further along because of that investment,” said Napier.

“I do think that he will benefit from taking all the first team reps the entire week… DJ has this innate ability to rise to the occasion and step up in big moments. I’m confident he’ll do that in this situation,” Napier said. “I think he’s got that in him.”

The Florida head coach added: “There’s nothing he can’t do. He’s proven over time that he can operate all the situational stuff, all the protection stuff, all the combos, he can handle it.”