DJ Lagway Shines in Florida Gators Football Victory Over Samford

We have seen the future of UF football and his name is DJ Lagway.

DJ Lagway (2) calls for the snap against the Samford defense (Photo by Chris Spears)

Never mind that it was Samford, here in town to take a beating in exchange for a $525,000 paycheck that will help keep the lights on for the athletic department back home in Birmingham. Samford came to Gainesville expecting to take a beating and the Florida Gators obliged with a convincing win that won’t budge the college football Richter Scale. Just the same, two very important things happened at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Saturday night where an announced crowd of 89,295 watched the Gators even their record at 1-1 by clubbing the visiting Bulldogs, 45-7.

First of all, the win ended a 6-game losing streak that stretches back to the last Saturday of 2023 when Georgia took a tire iron to a promising season. In between Georgia and last week’s 41-17 hosing at the hands of Miami, the Gators snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on three different occasions. To lose to Samford would have required the Gators going totally in the tank, but this was a Saturday when 28.5-point underdog Northern Illinois knocked off 5th-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend and 19.5-point road dog South Carolina made Kentucky look like a lost ball in the tall grass.

Florida was a 38.5-point favorite to crush Samford and the Gators did their part, in some way restoring some confidence to a program that seemed to be teetering on the verge of collapse the way they played against Miami.

Second, and equally important, the Gators were able to offer a glimpse of the future by unleashing freshman quarterback DJ Lagway on the visiting Bulldogs. Making his first collegiate start in place of senior Graham Mertz, who missed the game as part of concussion protocol, Lagway sent a jolt of electricity through the crowd by throwing for 456 yards and three touchdowns. Of Lagway’s 18 completions, nine were good for 20 or more yards with six going for at least 30 yards. A year ago, the Gators managed only 14 pass plays of 30 or more yards and five of 40 or more. Against Samford, Lagway had completions of 85 yards to Tre Wilson, 77 to Elijah Badger, 41 Aidan Wilson, 40 to Elijhah Badger and 36 to Tank Hawkins.

With Southeastern Conference play starting next Saturday when Texas A&M comes to Gainesville, the Gators needed more than just an expected win over a paycheck team. The Gators needed to play well offensively, defensively and on special teams. The offense cranked out 632 yards and six touchdowns. The defense held Samford to 205 yards and 3.014 yards per play. The kicking game was practically flawless.

The performance was quite a contrast to last week’s Miami debacle when the Gators played like bottom feeders. They needed a good performance to help calm the nerves of a fan base that spent a doom and gloom week contemplating the worst. Equally important, the Gators needed to play like a team that can play competitive football. Sure, the opponent was overmatched, but Samford didn’t just roll over. The Gators had to extend themselves.  

While Lagway ignited the offense by completing passes with laser-like precision, the defense put so much pressure on Samford’s water bug quick quarterback that there were only a couple of times in the entire game that he had time to throw the ball downfield. He was running for life while George Gumbs, Tyreak Sapp, LJ McCray and others chased him. The result, Samford’s running game netted 61 yards on 35 carries (1.74 per carry) while the passing attack managed only 144 yards on 33 attempts (4.36 per pass attempt). The Gators forced three fumbles, recovered one and while there were no interceptions, there were five pass breakups. The effort was relentless.

It was quite a contrast from the Miami game.

“This group of players is very disappointed with how they performed in week one, and it's personal to them,” Napier said. “I think that they're on a mission to prove that all this work that they've been doing, and that was not who they want to be. I think it's been a tough week in that regard.”

What salvaged the tough week was Lagway, who played like a seasoned veteran, not like a kid whose last starting assignment was in high school back in Willis, Texas. While showing the world that he has a to die for arm capable of making every throw in the book, Lagway showed poise in the pocket. There were no happy feet, no standing like a statue in the pocket. He moved around, found his passing lane and patiently waited for receivers to run their routes.

Lagway did all the things you expect a veteran quarterback to do, which might have something to do with the guy he replaced in the starting lineup. Just because Mertz couldn’t practice last week or play in the game Saturday while waiting for doctors to give him clearance doesn't mean he wasn't heavily involved. He couldn't play so Mertz spent the week helping to coach up the kid who is next in line to take his job.  

“Graham is the best thing that could ever happen to me,” Lagway said. “Him being here, just learning from a veteran player himself, it's been amazing to learn and to see how to do things right. He's a true professional, and that's what I want to be when I get older.”

Mertz is also the ideal teammate. He’s all about the team which has everything to do with his leadership qualities that endear him to coaches and teammates alike. It is his team, but he has opened the door for Lagway to be a vital contributor this year while apprenticing to be the starter in 2025.

Mertz will be cleared to play next week. It will rank among the upsets of the century if he isn’t the starter against the Aggies next Saturday, but that doesn’t mean Lagway will be relegated to the bench. Napier has it in his plans to use both quarterbacks, perhaps the same way Urban Meyer used both Chris Leak and Tim Tebow in 2006. Leak was the senior starter who threw passes that didn’t wobble. Tebow was the change of pace. His throws often looked like wounded ducks but they got there and he could do things with his feet that Leak never could.

It worked out well enough that the Gators went 13-1, won both the SEC and national championships and prepped Tebow to take over as the starter in 2007. While no one figures the Gators won’t lose again or win a championship, 11 games remain on the schedule and a 2-headed monster at quarterback will force opposing defensive coordinators to devote valuable practice time readying for two quarterbacks who pose completely different threats.

The Twitterverse and message boards are already filling up with demands to start Lagway. The only way that will happen is injury to Mertz or if Mertz can’t seem to get the team to respond.

Mertz is the present. Lagway is the future and because the future is so bright with him as the quarterback, it almost assures us that Napier will be the head coach in 2025. Lagway could have signed with anyone out of high school but he chose Napier and Florida. He believes in his coach, believes in the Gators and truly believes he can lead the Gators back to playing championship level football.

If Billy Napier is the head coach in 2025, rest assured that DJ Lagway will be Florida’s starting quarterback. If Napier is sent packing, bet the ranch that Lagway will be the starting QB somewhere other than the University of Florida in 2025 and beyond. That would be intolerable.

To avoid any such happening, it is up to the higher ups in the Florida athletic department to get so solidly behind Napier that Lagway never once considers moving on to a new school, not even if some school with boatloads of money backs up a Brinks truck filled with NIL cash to his front door. Florida must be prepared to match or exceed because this guy is special. We saw the future of Florida football Saturday night. His name is DJ Lagway.

This is one that Florida cannot allow to get away.

SEC FOOTBALL SCORES

FLORIDA (1-1) 45, Samford (0-2) 7

No. 1 Georgia (2-0) 48, Tennessee Tech (0-2) 3

No. 3 Texas (2-0) 31, No. 10 Michigan (1-1) 12

No. 4 Alabama (2-0) 42, South Florida (1-1) 16

No. 6 Ole Miss (2-0) 52, Middle Tennessee (1-1) 3

No. 9 Missouri (2-0) 38, Buffalo (1-1) 0

No. 14 Tennessee (2-0) 51, No. 24 North Carolina State (1-1) 10

No. 15 Oklahoma (2-0) 16, Houston (0-2) 12

No. 16 Oklahoma State (2-0) 39, Arkansas (1-1) 31, 2 OT

No. 18 LSU (1-1) 44, Nicholls (0-2) 21

South Carolina (2-0) 31, Kentucky (1-1) 6

Vanderbilt (2-0) 55, Alcorn State (0-2) 0

Texas A&M (1-1) 52, McNeese (1-2) 10

California (2-0) 21, Auburn (1-1) 14

Arizona State (2-0) 30, Mississippi State (1-1) 23

SEC NEXT SATURDAY

Texas A&M (1-1) at FLORIDA (1-1)

No. 1 Georgia (2-0) at Kentucky (1-1)

UT-San Antonio (1-1) at No. 3 Texas (2-0)

No. 4 Alabama (2-0) at Wisconsin (2-0)

No. 6 Ole Miss (2-0) at Wake Forest (1-1)

Boston College (2-0) at No. 9 Missouri (2-0)

Kent State (0-2) at No. 14 Tennessee

Tulane (1-1) at No. 15 Oklahoma

No. 18 LSU (1-1) at South Carolina (2-0)

Vanderbilt (2-0) at Georgia State (1-1)

UAB (1-1) at Arkansas (1-1)

New Mexico (0-2) at Auburn (1-1)

Toledo (2-0) at Mississippi State (1-1)