Florida Gators need to do right by starting quarterback DJ Lagway, and it’s an unconventional path
It’s a difficult conversation, but one that should be had.
The 2025 season is already a lost one for the Florida Gators. Head coach Billy Napier has started 1-3 with the only win coming against Long Island of the FCS. It’s been a brutal season for the Gators on many levels, but it’s the offense that has been the biggest problem across the board.
Not only is Napier firmly on the hot seat, but his players need to start having some difficult conversations. They’ve gone from College Football Playoff aspirations to being in danger of missing a bowl game for the second time in Napier’s tenure. At the University of Florida, that’s completely unacceptable. It also should end the season for quarterback DJ Lagway.
DJ Lagway should redshirt and have surgery to get healthy
Lagway wasn’t healthy throughout the entire offseason. He missed all of spring practice trying to rehab his shoulder and a hernia. Then, he had a calf injury going into fall camp, and he didn’t participate fully until about halfway through.
Considering Lagway is a true sophomore, those missed reps were crucial for his development. You can tell something is missing with Lagway’s performance on the field. His five interceptions against the LSU Tigers were the main reason why the Gators lost the game 20-10. He was not seeing the field with confidence and making incredibly poor decisions. Some of that was the two-high shell coverages teams were playing against him, but there weren’t enough adjustments in his game.
This is where the aforementioned difficult conversation comes into play. For Lagway’s benefit, the Gators should sit him down for the rest of the season, take a redshirt, and have the necessary procedures to have him 100% for the offseason and 2026.
It’s not the outcome that anyone wants. We all want to see Lagway thrive with the Gators, and it felt like it was destiny that it would happen after a phenomenal finish to the 2024 season. The reality is that Lagway, first and foremost, needs to get healthy. With the season already one to forget, he can get healthy and hopefully participate in the majority of the offseason activities.
Lagway will be healthy and also retain his eligibility. Having just played four games, Lagway would have three seasons of eligibility left. After how this season has gone through four games, staying in college for multiple seasons might be in his best interests to continue his development.
The difficult part of this entire discussion is whether or not Lagway would transfer if this were to happen. Heck, even if they don’t and Napier loses his job, it could happen anyway. The No. 1 thing is to do right by the player.
This is a difficult decision for everyone involved, but this is the best-case scenario for his future.
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