DJ Lagway injury update: Florida QB takes first-team reps at Saturday practice

Florida quarterback DJ Lagway took first team reps during Saturday’s practice, according to Florida Victorious’ Nick De La Torre. He has been working his way back from an injury as the Gators started training camp.

Lagway took reps with the first team Saturday while Aidan Warner threw with the second team. Harrison Bailey then threw with the third team offense and freshman Tramell Jones had reps with the fourth team.

As UF reported to training camp, Lagway was seen in a walking boot, Gators Online’s Zach Abolverdi reported. Florida athletics later confirmed to ESPN’s Heather Dinich Lagway suffered a calf strain and was day-to-day. That led to questions about when he could return to practice, but Abolverdi had a major update on Friday.

The boot was not expected to indicate a long-term issue, Abolverdi said on The Paul Finebaum Show, and Lagway didn’t have to wear it anymore as of Friday. However, it kept him out of the first day of practice.

“Obviously he’s dealing with multiple things,” Abolverdi said. “The latest injury is this calf injury that we reported at Gators Online. There was a bunch of rumors that were circulating after it happened. And he was in a boot for this injury. And it was something that obviously caused him to miss the first day of practice.

“It’s not something that is expected to be a long-term thing or keep him out of camp. But it is something that did have him hobbling around and limping, and he’s not able to go here as they start practices.”

Lagway arrived at Florida last year with plenty of fanfare as the crown jewel of the Gators’ recruiting class. He initially sat behind Graham Mertz on the depth chart before taking the starting job full-time after Mertz suffered an injury. In 12 games, Lagway threw for 1,915 yards and 12 touchdowns to nine interceptions.

But with multiple new weapons on the roster, SEC Network analyst and former Florida quarterback Chris Doering noted the importance of getting Lagway on the field. It appears he’s building that rapport now that he’s back with the first team.

“I know he’s been around during spring,” Doering on Sirius XM radio. “He got mental reps and called some of the plays and signaled things in, but I’m seriously concerned about the lack of time that he’s had with his new weapons. J Michael Sturdivant, the receiver from UCLA, has looked amazing from everybody that I’ve talked to. But how many times have those guys gotten reps together?

“Dallas Wilson was tremendous in the spring. How many times has he gotten to throw with DJ Lagway? Vernell Brown III is another young guy coming in that needs time with his quarterback. Tre Wilson was injured for much of last year. Didn’t necessarily get to play with DJ.”