Florida’s DJ Lagway Looks to Play Villain in Texas Homecoming

Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is the face of the Gators, but his roots are closer to Texas A&M.

Lagway is from Willis, Texas, about 60 miles from College Station, home of the No. 5 Aggies (5-0, 2-0 SEC). He played high school ball at Willis High School, where Texas A&M offered the five-star recruit an offer before Florida. Lagway threw for 8,392 yards and 100 touchdowns in three years as the starter for Willis. He also tallied 2,196 yards and 29 touchdowns on the ground. As the hometown kid, he took seven unofficial visits to A&M before signing with the Gators in 2022. 

“DJ’s obviously a kid that we’ve known and tried very hard to get here,” Aggies coach Mike Elko said Monday. “He’s an extremely talented quarterback.”

Living so close to College Station, Lagway naturally grew up playing with and against many players on the Aggies’ roster. Texas A&M linebacker Taurean York is one of those who has seen plenty of Lagway. York’s Temple High School took down Lagway and Willis in their matchup. On Saturday, Lagway returns to familiar territory at Kyle Field, but his childhood friends will see him on the opposing sideline. He’ll look to play the villain in front of the “12th Man” fans who heralded him as a hero in high school, but it won’t be his first time facing the Aggies – he played garbage time in a 33-20 loss at The Swamp last season.

“I have been to a lot of games in Kyle Field, and for me to be able to play in one, it’s gonna be so real,” Lagway said during SEC Media Day in July. “It’s going to be fun.”

He’s primed to impress in his homecoming after a strong performance against Texas in last Saturday’s win. Lagway completed 21 of 28 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns, a showing good enough for SEC Offensive Player of the Week. It could be the breakout performance he needed after a first month that saw only five touchdowns and six interceptions.

Lagway has a chance to knock off both SEC teams from Texas in back-to-back weeks to get the Gators back on track.

Coverage of Saturday’s game will start at 4 p.m. on WRUF 98.1FM/850AM 104.3 HD-2.  

Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Football, Gators Football, SEC