DJ Lagway has become the Florida Gators’ biggest problem, and we should have seen it coming
Nobody expected him to be the problem for the Gators, but here we are.
Going into the 2025 season, the Florida Gators had hopes to make the College Football Playoff. They had the group in the trenches, the infrastructure, and a star quarterback in DJ Lagway. Ultimately, that has landed them at 1-2 with just 26 points against the two FBS opponents they have faced.
Head coach Billy Napier has a tough road ahead of him, and he’s done plenty to make that even more difficult for the Gators. The lack of discipline has been awful, but the biggest issue for the Gators has been one that nobody saw coming: Lagway.
DJ Lagway’s struggles are biggest reason for loss vs. LSU
It was a frustrating offseason for the Gators and Lagway. It started on the first day of spring practice when Napier told reporters that Lagway wouldn’t be throwing. That continued throughout the offseason, and he wasn’t a full participant once fall camp started. The amount of time missed has been a massive reason why Lagway has struggled this season.
The season opener was fine for Lagway, as he thrived against the Long Island Sharks of the FCS. Ultimately, his struggles have been a major reason why the Gators have started 1-2.
He was solid for the most part against South Florida, but some late-game misses in big situations were a major reason why they couldn’t seal the win on the final drive. Against the LSU Tigers, the lack of practice ended up proving to be too much for the true sophomore.
His five turnovers were responsible for the 10 points that ended up deciding the game. He threw two interceptions in the first half, with the second one coming at the end, setting the Tigers up in field goal range.
In the second half, Lagway threw three more. The first four interceptions were on third down with Lagway trying to make a play. However, you can tell he’s struggling to see the field well. The pick-six is a perfect example of that.
If you look at all of the other plays that Lagway had, he was pretty good. Of his other 44 pass attempts, he completed 33 of them for 289 yards and a touchdown. Within those completions, there were some good decisions and NFL throws, including ones where he created outside of structure and layered throws over the middle of the field. You can build off of those over the course of the season.
The lack of practice time is biting him and the Gators, especially on this last interception, which ended up sealing the deal. He was trying to throw the ball away, but it didn’t work, mainly because he didn’t get enough on the ball.
This is where questions start to arise. We knew that Lagway had an injured shoulder and hernia, but is it hindering him more than we realized? 247 Sports’ Zach Goodall seems to think so.
Where do we go from here with Lagway? Is this a one-off that will be rectified in the next few games, or is this not going to be fixed until Lagway gets the necessary surgery to fix his shoulder?
There are a lot more issues with Lagway than anyone could have anticipated, and that’s a big reason why the Gators aren’t in a position to compete in the SEC. This could be a time for the Gators to sit Lagway down, redshirt him, and wait until he is fully healthy.
No excuses, it’s time to find solutions anyway necessary.
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Billy Napier’s Florida Gators continue to fail in 1 key area, and it’s embarrassing
It’s past the point of unacceptable, and something has to be done.
