Former Gators QB DJ Lagway opens up about his time in Gainesville, with one unfortunate aspect leading the way
Everyone was hoping for a better result from DJ Lagway’s tenure with the Florida Gators, but it didn’t work out that way.
The Florida Gators’ last five-star recruit at quarterback was DJ Lagway, and there was a ton of hype for him going into last season. Unfortunately for him and the Gators, it didn’t go nearly as planned.
Lagway gave it his all throughout the season, dealing with multiple injuries both to himself and the roster around him. With all of the poor injury luck, the Gators finished with a 4-8 record, and former head coach Billy Napier got fired after a homecoming win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
DJ Lagway opens up about his time at Florida
Despite all the hype and hope that he would be the guy to take Florida back to national prominence, Lagway never put it all together, and was the only one of the top Gators players to leave via the transfer portal.
He opened up at Big 12 media day about his time at Florida, citing both his health and struggles mentally for why it didn’t work out.
“Yeah, I say really, the cultivation of both [health and mental],” said Lagway. “Being able to, while I wasn’t healthy, really not know the mental side of it, and then being able, when I was healthy, fighting the mental battles of not having the amount of reps that I needed to do to go out there and perform on the field, so being able to battle both, that was a tremendous [battle].”
Health was the biggest issue last season for Lagway. He missed out on a ton of reps due to his extensive injuries, from his shoulder to a sports hernia and later his calf. Those reps for a 19-year-old are crucial, and being able to have a healthy offseason will be massive for him this year to take another step.
Will he be able to? That remains to be seen, but it’s always been evident that Lagway has the goods to do so, it’s just frustrating that it won’t be in Gainesville.
