Billy Gonzales has not given up on DJ Lagway just yet

Against Texas, DJ Lagway had his best game of the season (Photo by Chris Spears)

Billy Gonzales isn’t ready to join the social media chorus that has all but buried quarterback DJ Lagway, who had a rotten game against Kentucky in Lexington back on Saturday night.

“Everybody wants to jump on DJ with the interceptions,” Gonzales said at his Monday press conference. “Yeah, we understand that part, but we had a chance.”

Florida’s interim head coach pointed to a pass play on the Gators’ opening drive that could have been a difference maker in the overall scheme of things. Following a 22-yard Lagway to Vernell Brown III strike that gave the Gators a first down at the Kentucky 42, a second deep throw to Brown was called. Open down the right sideline, the ball skidded off Brown’s hands.

Two plays later, Lagway threw into double coverage down the middle and was picked off, the first of three interceptions the sophomore QB threw in Florida’s 38-7 loss to the Wildcats.

“We dropped the ball early in the first drive that would have put us probably on the 20-yard line and a chance to score early, okay?” Gonzales said. “We ended up throwing an interception right after that, so it's complementary football, and if you're not playing complementary football, you're not going to be successful. And we talk about that all the time, and so, it didn't happen.”

If life in the Southeastern Conference teaches anything it is that entire games change on the outcome of a single play. Had the Gators driven for a touchdown on their opening possession, Lagway’s confidence and the confidence of the entire team may have soared while Kentucky might have had a here we go again mentality.

Instead, Florida was deflated and Kentucky got an early confidence boost that inspired the Wildcats to play perhaps their best overall game of the season. In the wake of the loss, the Gators (3-6, 2-4 SEC) are left scrambling to somehow make something positive out of the final three games of the season, beginning Saturday evening (7 p.m., ESPN) with 6^th-ranked Ole Miss (9-1, 5-1 SEC).

For the Gators to have any kind of chance against the Rebels, who rank 4^th nationally in total offense (489.4 yards) and 13^th in scoring (37.5 points). Ole Miss allows 19.8 points per game. The Gators rank 107^th in total offense (341 yards per game) and 116^th in scoring (20.4 points).

To have any kind of chance, the Gators will have to have a good game from the quarterback. Although Lagway was benched for the entire second half of the Kentucky game, it was Gonzales intention for Lagway to take the first team reps at practice Monday.

This was the first time Lagway has been benched as Florida’s starting quarterback. Gonzales did his best to explain why he made the move to freshman Tramell Jones Jr., who finished out the game.

“It was my decision to take him [Lagway] out of the game at that point, and we were struggling, he had a tough … but it’s not all on him, and I told him that,” Gonzales said. “I said, ‘You know, as a coach, it’s our responsibility if someone’s struggling, help them out or take them out so they’re not put in that position to have to keep fighting through that. I did ask him, I said, 'You know, some of the things, what do you think you need to improve on?' And he said, 'Just being able to make those great decisions,' and he said, 'I understand it's all performance-based, and it all begins with me at the quarterback position,' and I stopped him.

"I said, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa! Here's the one thing I don't want you to – I don't ever want you to say that – that it all begins with me, because it doesn't. It all begins with the coaching staff. It begins with us as an offensive staff to be able to put him in that position. I don't want you to think that it all begins with you and that you got the weight of the world on your shoulders. I don't want that. I need you to go out there and relax. I need you to go out there and play and be focused." 

Can Lagway bounce back from such a bad performance and will the Gators respond if he does? Lagway had a performance to forget against Miami when he completed 12-23 passes for 61 yards (2.7 yards per attempt). In his next game against then 9^th-ranked Texas, Lagway had one of the best games of his still-young collegiate career. He completed 21-28 passes for 298 yards (10.6 per pass attempt) and two touchdowns.

There is no question Lagway is a physically gifted player, but the season hasn’t gone anything like expected. When the season began, the Gators were ranked in the top 25 polls and Lagway was considered to be a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender along with Arch Manning (Texas), Carson Beck (Miami), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina) and Cade Klubnik (Clemson). None of them have had anything close to the season that was expected.

Gonzales tried to put Lagway’s performance in the Kentucky game in proper perspective.

“For some reason another, he didn’t have the day that he wanted to have,” Gonzales said. “I talked to him about that. I said, ‘So you’re a great player, but I’m not going to let somebody just continue to struggle. I wanted to bring you out and let you refocus, let you gather, let you learn, and hopefully it’s a learning experience. It’s going to make you better this week when we prepare for Ole Miss.’ So that was my thought process.”