‘I think God forgot me’ — Former Gators QB DJ Lagway had strong words about his former program and head coach
It was far from an easy situation for the Florida Gators last year, and it was the hardest on quarterback DJ Lagway.
The Florida Gators are set to start a new era under Jon Sumrall on Saturday night when they face the Florida Atlantic Owls. That in itself is the biggest story going into the college football season.
One thing many Gators fans will be watching for is how quarterback DJ Lagway plays for the Baylor Bears. The No. 1 quarterback in the recruiting class of 2024 struggled in his only season as the starting quarterback. Those struggles led to him entering the transfer portal, and he ended up at his father’s alma mater.
DJ Lagway has strong words about his time at Florida
You could tell from the outside looking in that Lagway wasn’t having a good time with the Gators, and he’s started to open up about it. In an article by Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellinger, Lagway admitted to something interesting.
“Upon arriving at DJ’s home in Florida [after 20-10 loss @ LSU], she found her boy was broken — depressed, angry and using her shoulder on which to cry.
“God’s got you,” she told him.
“Momma,” he said back, “I think God forgot about me.”
Think about that for a second. Lagway was struggling so much that he was wondering if God forgot about him. It’s crazy that it got to this point, but sometimes, that’s the nature of the beast when it comes to college football. He was viewed by many as the savior of the Gators’ football program, and that kind of pressure can be debilitating. It certainly didn’t help that former head coach Billy Napier didn’t do nearly enough to help him.
Ultimately, that seems to be the case for Lagway. Dellenger makes it clear that Lagway is in a much better spot.
“Back inside the Baylor facility, DJ finished off that Subway sandwich. He doesn’t much want to relive what happened in Gainesville. He’s excited about playing here in offensive coordinator Jake Spavital’s spread scheme as opposed to the pro-style offense at Florida.
It fits him better. It’s “perfect,” he said. “A spread-it-out and air-it-out kind of offense.”
Of more importance is DJ’s mental growth here. He’s smiling more and laughing. He’s found his favorite snack, too — the chocolate chip cookies from McDonald’s.“
With Lagway appearing to be in a better headspace, will his impact finally match his five-star status? That’s the million dollar question that we hopefully will have an answer to quickly.
If Lagway ends up matching his five-star status on the field, Baylor could be a high-level program this year.
