Who should be Florida starting QB vs Texas A&M? McElroy chooses between Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway 

The Florida Gators haven't had the best start to the season. In their first game, they lost heavily to the Miami Hurricanes before beating Samford, an FCS program that a team like Florida should easily defeat, last weekend.

The Gators have played two different quarterbacks. Graham Mertz played the first game, while DJ Lagway featured in the second, as Mertz was out with a concussion.

The Gators being their SEC campaign this weekend against the Texas A&M Aggies. Coach, Billy Napier has a decision to make on which quarterback to play against the Aggies, who are likely to be on par in terms of opposition with the Miami Hurricanes.

Analyst Greg McElroy had his say on which quarterback Napier should play - Graham Mertz - saying on the Always College Football:

“So we look at kind of where things are, I look at where this program’s at. And while everybody wants DJ Lagway, everybody wants him. He’s got great potential.

"He’s a five-star, might be a program-savior down the road, I know what I’ve got with Graham Mertz. I would go with Graham Mertz in a game like this, especially knowing the defense that he’s going to be going against.”

If the raw numbers from the two games played this season are compared, it's Lagway who wins it. He threw for over 400 yards and scored three TDs in the Samford game, compared to the 91 yards that Mertz threw against Miami.

However, the two games cannot really be compared. Miami was a ranked opposition and one of the stronger programs in the ACC, while Samford is an FCS program where Florida is by far the stronger team.

Additionally, Graham Mertz is a far more experienced quarterback who has played games against other SEC teams numerous times. So, playing him against the Aggies would be a good decision.

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Greg McElroy praises Florida QB DJ Lagway

Greg McElroy also praised DJ Lagway for his performances and believes that he will be able to improve in the future, saying on the Always College Football podcast:

"We now were introduced to DJ Lagway and he had an amazingly efficient game last week. 456 yards passing, that’s breaking the school freshman record by nearly 200 yards. He had nine completions that went for 20-plus, that’s the most by a Gators quarterback in a game over the last 20 years.

"Clearly he’s very capable throwing it downfield. On throws that traveled way downfield, 20-plus yards, he was 4-of-6, and that was the best completion percentage on throws downfield since Emory Jones back in 2021.”

DJ Lagway has set himself up as the future of the Florida Gators, where they will look to be a competitive program, but in the short term, Mertz is the better decision.