Billy Napier's Monday update on Florida quarterback DJ Lagway
After suffering a Grade 2 hamstring injury against Georgia two weekends ago, Florida quarterback DJ Lagway was held of of the Gators’ loss to Texas on Saturday night as Florida dropped to 4-5 on the season without their top two quarterbacks.
On Monday afternoon at his weekly press conference, Napier gave the latest update on his star freshman quarterback as Lagway hopes to get back on the field for this Saturday’s home game against LSU.
“We felt good about what we saw this morning,” Napier said. “It’s day-to-day, and we do anticipate him practicing today.”
Napier proceeded with caution against Texas, holding Lagway out in hopes that another stretch of rest and recovery would get him ready for the final three games of the season. Florida hosts LSU on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in The Swamp looking to get back to .500 while the Tigers look to stop the losing skid.
After the loss to Texas, Napier gave an initial update heading into the week and talked about his decision not to play Lagway.
“I think that he got better each day. A little bit better with each opportunity,” Napier said Saturday. “I do think that he probably felt as good as he’s felt since the injury today pregame. That’s kind of what he voiced to me. But not quite ready. I think there was risk with putting him out there with a soft-tissue injury. All of the metrics said he’s not quite ready to do it but we’re hopeful. He’s made some progress and we’ll get a good feel for it early next week.”
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Lagway arrived at Florida as a five-star recruit and the top-ranked quarterback in the Class of 2024, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. The hope was he could develop behind Graham Mertz and prepare to be the future quarterback of Florida. However, a concussion to Mertz forced Lagway into action early before the two split reps. Then, a torn ACL for Mertz later forced Lagway into the starting role.
In eight appearances, Lagway has passed for 1,071 yards, six touchdowns, and five interceptions while completing 60.87 percent of his passes. He’s also a rushing thread with 37 runs this year.
Without him, Florida turns to third string and true freshman Aidan Warner who has completed just 21 of his 50 pass attempts this year for 228 yards, zero touchdowns, and three interceptions.
LSU has problems of its own, now on a two-game losing streak, but the Gators’ quarterback situation will continue to headline the matchup throughout this week. Can Lagway return as Florida looks to get to a bowl game under Napier?
Stay tuned to the Bengal Tiger and On3 for the latest on Lagway and the injury updates to know ahead of Saturday’s game.
