GAINESVILLE, Fla. — True freshman quarterback DJ Lagway shared a post on his X account Thursday afternoon in effort to bring Gators fans to Ben Hill-Griffin Stadium Saturday.
Let’s get The Swamp lit on Saturday … Go Gators! 🐊 pic.twitter.com/J9PY8ijtFJ
— LAG ✞ (@DerekLagway) September 5, 2024
Lagway will start his first collegiate game much earlier than anticipated with Gators starter Graham Mertz out due to concussion. Mertz was concussed during a third quarter drive with Florida down 38-10.
The Gators scored one touchdown with Lagway directing the offense and finished 3-of-6 passing for 31 yards and an interception. He added another 20 yards on four carries with his longest run being a 16-yard scamper.
Any injury to an incumbent starter is a tough way to start the season but Lagway entered college as a 5-star, dual-threat quarterback during the 2024 cycle. Head coach Billy Napier put together an impressive recruiting class which ranked No. 7 nationally and No. 4 in the SEC.
Napier has confidence in Lagway’s ability to be very productive against Samford Saturday. The Bulldogs lost 38-29 to second year FCS program West Georgia in its season opener last week. This could be a good confidence boosting team for not only Florida’s quarterback but team as a whole.
“I think it’s huge that he actually got to play a little bit Week 1 and just relative to what he’s taking on now,” Napier said during his Wednesday press conference. “He’s been out there and kind of been through that process. He prepared in the 10-day prep for Miami and he went through that entire thing and I think, obviously, he’s gotten all the reps with the ones, working with the first offense not the second offense.”
“All of the sudden, the players around you and the defense you’re competing with and the good-on-good. He hasn’t done a ton of that, so to do it all the time I think benefits him as well.”
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• Kelly Needs to Stop Blaming Quarterback and Look at Root of Problem
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• Overreacting to Tennessee, Iamaleava’s Week One Performance
