As if you were worried about it, DJ Lagway will start at QB

(Photo by Chris Spears)

Not that anyone should be even slightly surprised, but DJ Lagway will start at quarterback Saturday when 15^th-ranked Florida opens its season against the Long Island University Sharks of the vaunted Northeast Conference.

“Yeah, DJ’s the starter,” Billy Napier said at his Monday press conference. Hampered by a calf injury that has kept him in a non-contact jersey since fall practice began, Lagway has been a 100 percent participant in practice the last few days. Because he missed spring football while rehabbing a shoulder injury, Lagway needs reps in the worst way.

So, what better way to get the sophomore quarterback live reps than a game against a D1AA opponent coming off a 4-8 season? The Sharks aren’t going to provide a whole lot of competition, but they will be different folks in different jerseys than the ones Lagway can see every day in practice. The looks the Sharks give him will be different than the ones he can see on the practice field.

Think of this as a win-win situation. The Gators get to break a sweat against guys they don’t share a locker room with and Lagway gets to work on timing and reading defenses, skills he will need polished up by the time week three rolls around. Against a team like LIU, the Gators can get away with the kind of mistakes that would cost them in an SEC game like the one in Baton Rouge the third week of the season.

Apparently the daily drudge of going to practice and throwing the ball around a little bit while three other quarterbacks take all the live reps has worn down even a positive thinker like Lagway. Apparently practice last week rejuvenated him.

“I think he's having a lot of fun playing football and competing,” Napier said. “You know, he's smiling a lot more often now, so I think he truly enjoys practice and preparing, just the opportunity to get better. You know, I think the kid is consumed with improvement, and he knows the value of practice, so him getting to do that I think he’s happy.”

True football junkies love every phase of the game, from the work in the weight room to film sessions to days in the hot sun practicing the same play over and over again until the timing is just right. By missing all of spring football and almost all of the live work in August timing might be an issue. It’s one thing to throw when there is no pass rush in your face and you know the defensive back so well that you can anticipate how he will react to a certain pass route. It’s something altogether different when it’s an entirely new football team.

Even a bad one like Long Island.

What should make Lagway happiest is the chance to go live Saturday evening. He may only play the first half, but he will get to read defenses, anticipate what his receivers will do and put the ball in a place where only his receiver has a chance to catch it. Lagway is 6-0 in games he has started and didn’t have to leave because of an injury. He is almost certain to be 7-0 when the clock strikes midnight Saturday.

Lagway just turned 20 years old. Like every young quarterback, there is no substitute for missed reps in practice. As much as Napier may wish Lagway could have gotten the spring and August reps, there is a silver lining to this ordeal. The injuries have forced Lagway to learn to deal with adversity.  

“There’s players every year at every level of football that go through things like this,” Napier said. “He just happens to be a quarterback and then obviously he had a heck of a freshman year. There’s a ton of attention that comes with it. Look, I think that it’s healthy in some regards to be uncomfortable, to go through adversity. If you can frame it the right way and have the right mind-set towards it, I think it causes you to be creative in terms of how you create experience for yourself.

“Look, patience is something that needs to be developed at times, right? His attitude towards teach process is important. Can he be process-oriented? Look, a lot of times things happen to you that you can’t control, so there’s opportunities to get better as a result of what he’s going through. I think he’s learned a lot about himself. This won’t be the first time he goes through something like this. You play this game, you’re going to get injured. How you manage that not only physically but mentally. I think the battle begins in the mind. I think for him, that’s been a little bit of a challenge. I think it’s been healthy.”

Despite the protracted absence of Lagway during August, Napier believes the Gators accomplished most of their preseason goals. Chief among the preseason outline was getting young guys integrated into the depth chart ready to be the next man up if and when injuries cost somebody a game. From Napier’s standpoint it was mission accomplished.

He has admitted on several occasions that this is the deepest and most complete roster he’s had since arriving at the University of Florida.

"Yeah, I feel good about it,” Napier said. “Obviously, I think we did a good job developing depth where we needed it. I'm proud of some of the players that kind of surfaced as we were looking for competition to build depth. Now that is ongoing, I would say with some of these positions that we talked about. I think that the development of the young players, because a lot of these guys haven't played significant roles - maybe they played at the end of the game at certain points throughout last year - but I think those are the players that I think we need to see to continue to improve.

“That's going to be important for our team. We know in this league that depth will be really, really important. So, you're always coaching your team. You have different capacity in every room, but you got to continue to coach all parts of the team throughout the year. But I do feel good about the progress a lot of those players that we talked about in the very beginning."

Asked where he has seen the most improvement, Napier pointed to his EDGE rushers and inside linebackers. After a fast finish last season in which the Gators played exceptional defense in winning four games, expectations are that Florida’s pass rush could be lethal this year, led by veterans Tyreak Sapp, George Gumbs Jr. and Kamran James. Freshman Jayden Woods continues to turn heads. Inside linebackers Myles Graham, Jaden Robinson and Aaron Chiles have had very good August camps.

There remains competition for the fourth corner (top three are Devin Moore, Cormani McClain and Dijon Johnson) and for the fifth and sixth safeties (top four are Jordan Castell, Bryce Thornton, Aaron Gates and Southern Miss transfer Michael Carraway Jr.).

Napier’s demeanor is one of confidence. He’s picking and choosing his words carefully. He doesn’t come across boastful, but rather self-assured. He has a good roster which is the making of a very good football team. Now it’s a matter of showing up every day at practice and leading the entire team – players, coaches and staff – to prepare to play winning football on Saturday.

"I think that what I've learned is that my confidence level – you know, I think it's important for me, big-picture-wise, to live day-to-day in that regard,” Napier said. “I've got to show up and fight for what I expect of the staff and the players every day. I think your team is always close to being average or above-average, right? At any point in time. And I think with the level of competition that we play, we have to fight for the intangibles that we need on Saturday and the execution that we need on Saturday every week. So I think – the season is here, and I think for me, it's about getting a singular focus on the matchup for that week, the players that are available, the personnel, the scheme, the leadership challenge, pushing the right buttons, getting the team ready to peak, build momentum towards Saturday. And then, hey, having the mental toughness to do that again week after week. So, you know, literally, I think what I've learned over time is just like, hey, who do we play this week, and what do we need to be well-prepared?"