DJ Lagway Expected to Start at QB vs Samford

Freshman QB DJ Lagway gets ready to take a snap in Florida's loss to Miami (Photo by Chris Spears)

One day after practice years ago with the media gathered around him, then Florida coach Urban Meyer said it only took a few minutes watching film and he could determine the weak spot of any team. “It’s a team game and it takes all 11 guys working together,” Meyer said. “The film doesn’t lie. You can’t hide once the ball is snapped.”

Wednesday evening at the Heavener Center, when answering a question about his offensive line, Billy Napier replied, “Whoever had a great team without a good offensive line? Whoever had a really good offensive unit without a great offensive line? And the film is who we are at this point. No matter how much work we've done since the first day of the offseason until now, we went out there and we put that on tape. Okay, so, that's who we are.”

Yes, that is exactly who the Gators are right now, a team that has talent and speed at the skill positions but lacks the ability to move defenders out of the way. Other than Montrell Johnson Jr.’s 71-yard run the Gators rarely executed well on running plays. It was rare when Graham Mertz had time to set up, look the field over and then deliver the ball to an open receiver. Ultimately, the Miami pass rush got to Mertz, knocking him out of the game with a concussion in the fourth quarter.

The concussion is why true freshman DJ Lagway is expected to be the starter at quarterback Saturday against Samford (7 p.m., ESPN+/SEC Network+).  

“Graham did not practice today,” Napier said. “He is farther into the [concussion] protocol and he's doing better, but he's hasn't quite passed the final test. He's doing better, but he's not quite there yet. So, as of now, DJ will start the game and then Clay (Millen) and Aidan (Warner) will be the backups.”

When Mertz went down against Miami, Lagway came on to complete 3-6 passes (1 interception) for 31 yards while running four times for 20. Lagway led the Gators on a 9-play, 58-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.

No matter who starts at quarterback, Florida’s offensive line has to play much, much better starting Saturday. Against Miami, the offensive line played poorly, but let’s be honest here. Other than Florida’s special teams, there wasn’t even one unit that played well consistently against the Hurricanes.

Was that an omen of things to come in the next 11 games or simply a bad first outing against a talented, motivated team that played with a chip on its shoulder?

Since the O-line had visibly the worst game of any Florida unit against Miami it’s fair to make that the first place to start when asking what has been going on starting Monday to make the necessary corrections?

“I see the guys like Jake Slaughter stand up and say that will never happen again,” Napier said. “That's what I see, and I see coaches accepting the challenge as well. I think that, ultimately, those guys understand that if we're going to have a football team, a quality football team, it's always going to start up front.”

It always starts up front. You don’t win more college football games than you lose without a good quarterback who can avoid mistakes and knows where to go with the football, but even the most talented quarterbacks don’t function well if they aren’t protected by an outstanding line.

When the O-line couldn’t handle Miami’s pressure and physicality, the entire offense broke down. Once again, is this a correctable issue?

“There's only one way to fix that and it's to put good tape together one week at a time moving forward,” Napier said. “So, I think they're itching to get back out there because they're embarrassed. You get criticized and I think we're in it together, you know? I think that group, we all understand there's only one way to fix it and we've got work to do in order to do that.”

Although there are certainly exceptions, Napier is a real believe that you play like you practice. Good practice weeks typically lead to playing well on Saturdays. Leading up to Miami, the Gators had some good practice days but they had other days that lacked the intensity and focus Napier wanted to see.

Perhaps there is a sense of urgency after the egg the Gators laid against Miami, but this week the practices have been much better, much more consistent.

“I think there were parts of practice [last week] that could have been better, just to be totally transparent, and I think we pointed that out,” Napier said. “And I would tell you we've had weeks where we've been sluggish and played great. We've had weeks where we've had great weeks that we've been a little bit not as good as we would like. I think the key is that we see improvement on the film. We see individual players improving, communication, fundamentals and then flat-out execution and doing your job. So you start with the attitude, though, and I think we had that today.”

Will it carry over? Samford is from the D1AA Southern Conference so the Gators should win this handily. Florida has better personnel and a much deeper roster, so think of this as a get well game to prep the Gators for Texas A&M on September 14.

NAPIER QUOTE OF THE DAY ABOUT THE OFFENSIVE LINE

“It is literally one day at a time right now. Based off of what I watched Saturday, it's show me on Tuesday, show me on Wednesday, show me on Thursday, and then we'll decide on who's going to play."

INJURIES FORCE THE SECONDARY TO SHUFFLE

Three starters in the secondary will miss the Samford game – corner Devin Moore and safeties Asa Turner and Sharif Denson. Per the UF depth chart released Wednesday evening, the Gators will start Jason Marshall and Ja’Keem Jackson at the corners, Jordan Castell and DJ Douglas at the safeties with Aaron Gates or Alfonzo Allen Jr. as the starter at the STAR position.

Also out will be D-lineman Joey Slackman, safety Bryce Thornton and wide receivers Kahliel Jackson, Andy Jean and Ja’Quavion Fraziars.