Will DJ Lagway start for Florida? Exploring Billy Napier's starting QB options for 2024 season

Florida Gators QB DJ Lagway is gearing up for his collegiate debut this upcoming season. Coming out of Willis High School, the 2023 Gatorade Football Player of the Year committed to play for Billy Napier's team.

However, will Lagway be given the starting quarterback position during his freshman season with the Gators?

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Will DJ Lagway start for Florida?

Yes, DJ Lagway has already started for the Florida Gators during the 2024-25 season. In Florida's Week 2 game against Samford, he impressed with three touchdowns and proved himself to be an asset for Billy Napier.

He was basically covering for Graham Mertz, who had suffered a concussion during the season opener against the Miami Hurricanes.

Despite the Gators going 5-7 last season, Graham Mertz had his best collegiate campaign. He put up 2,903 passing yards and 20 TD passes on the field. He boasted a pass completion rate of 72.9% and is expected to put up another impressive performance in his final collegiate campaign.

Graham Mertz was given a spot in the 2024 Manning Award Preseason Watch List.

Moreover, he's also named in other watch lists like the Maxwell Award and the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award. He has the opportunity to become the first Florida player since Tim Tebow to win the Manning Award this upcoming season.

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Billy Napier heaps praise on DJ Lagway's fall camp performance

While Mertz is expected to serve as the starter for the Gators, Lagway has the opportunity to use this season to learn and gain experience as the backup to prepare himself as Mertz's successor. Coach Billy Napier is impressed with Lagway's improvement throughout the offseason.

Billy Napier heaped praise on the freshman's abilities, game sense and football IQ, which have seen tremendous growth over the past few months.

"I think he made tremendous growth," Napier said. "His knowledge of defense, and I think he's improved fundamentally too. I think the ball's coming out more consistently, his feet have been polished up. He's getting better."

It will be interesting to see if DJ Lagway is given sufficient playing time in his debut collegiate campaign. Can he go on to become the next great quarterback out of Florida?