Lagway Under Pressure: Florida’s Revival Rests on No. 2

Florida believes this is the season that they will finally get back to being one of college football’s best. A big reason is the man leading the Gators under center, quarterback DJ Lagway.

Many consider the sophomore from Willis, TX, one of the top quarterbacks in the conference—and who could blame them? Lagway has been a revelation since arriving in Gainesville last season, making his mark right from the jump.

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Room for improvement

Lagway played in all 13 games, throwing for 1,915 yards with a 59.9 completion percentage and a 12-to-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio. In his seven starts, the team went 6-1, his only loss coming against Georgia, where he left the game in the first half with a hamstring injury.

Despite underwhelming statistics, the Gators offense was significantly better when he was under center. The combination of his cannon of an arm and the size of his 6-foot-3 frame was a nightmare for opposing defenders

However, nine interceptions in limited playing time show that Lagway has room to grow in the decision making department.

Staying On The Field

With Lagway’s athleticism, he was not afraid to tuck it and run for extra yards last season. Lagway rushed for 101 yards and muscled away numerous sack attempts.

The negative of putting his body on the line was the shots he took when holding onto the football. He left the game temporarily against Samford after a hit to the head and missed the Texas game due to a hamstring injury.

Lagway also did not throw all of spring due to an upper body injury, keeping him from gaining many reps with the Gators new receiving core. For Florida to achieve its goals this season, they will need No. 2 to stay healthy.

Accuracy Issues

In seven of the 13 games Lagway appeared in, he threw an interception, with five coming as the full-time starter. He also tended to hit the difficult throws a lot more than the easy ones, which was the reason for the inconsistent completion percentage. Against SEC teams, his average completion percentage was 55.8%. Only against Mississippi State did Lagway throw for higher than 60%, and his highest as a starter was 58.8% against Ole Miss.

Lagway’s deep ball accuracy was one of the best in college football. He completed 12 passes of 40 yards or more, which led all SEC freshman, He also had a completion percentage of 63.8 percent on passes of 20 yards or more. However, his short and intermediate game must get better, as his percentage dropped to a staggering 46.6% on passes less than 20 yards.

Plenty to Look Forward To

With all that said, this does not mean Lagway cannot correct this and be the beacon of hope Gator fans are praying he is. He should have one of the better supporting casts around him this season. Guys like freshman sensation Dallas Wilson, Eugene Wilson III, Aidan Mizell, Tank Hawkins, and redshirt senior transfer J. Michael Sturdivant will all be difference makers that will help Lagway out this season.

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Another reason for optimism is that Florida’s first four opponents struggled against the pass last season. Those teams’ rankings against the pass went as follows: Long Island (N/A = 153.75 pass ypg), USF (127th), @LSU (76th), @ Miami (57th) – so there will be room to exploit some weaker pass defenses before taking on some stronger ones later on in the year. 

With all that said, expect big things this season from Lagway, as the Gator faithful count on him to lead Florida back to the promised land.