DJ Lagway on rallying behind Billy Napier: ‘It’s us against the world’

It all looked so grim for DJ Lagway and Billy Napier coming into the weekend. But the Florida QB-coach combo came out on top in a 29-21 win over No. 9 Texas, only improving to 2-3, but showcasing some absolute fight from the Gators.

Florida missed opportunities against South Florida, LSU and Miami in three straight weeks. Beating Texas? Good luck.

But Lagway and Napier know the criticism is out there and probably not going anywhere anytime soon. But Lagway is certainly standing by his head coach and teammates.

“We’re fighting for … each other,” Lagway said. “It’s us against the world, that’s kind of our mentality. And that’s kind of how we approach every single day and keep our heads down and continue to work.” 

Lagway made some highlight reel throws on Saturday and turned in a pretty solid stat line. He finished the game 21-of-28 passing for 298 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Lagway isn’t the type to give up on Napier or Florida. It seems like the head coach echoed those same comments following the win over the Longhorns.

“I would say, for me, that’s the football team I thought we had in the very beginning,” Napier said. “We finally kind of put it together there and played all three phases very complementary, all parts of the team really good. We started fast. That was a huge emphasis in the game. Got the crowd into it. Man, you’ve got to give these kids some credit. I think nowadays in college athletics, maybe there’s a little bit of a black eye about the sport, what it can teach, what locker rooms are like, and I can only speak for ours. I’m not giving up on the team.”

Things don’t get any easier for Lagway and Napier moving forward. The team has to hit the road and travel to College Station for a matchup with Texas A&M next weekend.

Then, Florida hosts Mississippi State on October 18th before a bye week and then the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party against rival Georgia. Another upset and then a win before the bye? Florida at 4-3? If Saturday is any indication, plus Lagway’s belief in Napier, anything is possible.

“We’ve handled adversity. Now can we handle a little bit of success? I think that’ll be really important. In general,” Napier said. “I’m extremely proud of the staff and the players for the way they held together and the work that was done in the open date.”