Explaining how 5-star QB DJ Lagway may factor into Florida's 2024 QB plan

There are very few incoming freshmen around the country as exciting as five-star recruit DJ Lagway at Florida. On top of being incredibly talented, he enters a unique situation where the team is currently struggling on the field and there are questions about the future for head coach Billy Napier.

With all of that in mind, On3’s Jesse Simonton broke down how Lagway could factor into Florida’s plan at QB in 2024, with Graham Mertz returning and an incredibly difficult schedule.

“I think his situation is tied and kind of tethered to what is happening with Billy Napier and the program,” Jesse Simonton said. “Mertz exceeded my expectations a year ago. He was absolutely not the problem for Florida. He wasn’t an All-SEC quarterback, but highly capable, he led a solid offense. That defense was the tire fire. Just historically bad.”

DJ Lagway was a five-star recruit in the Class of 2024, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. On top of that, he was the top-ranked quarterback and the third-ranked recruit overall. That made him the key piece of the 2024 Florida class, which was 10th in the cycle.

Ultimately, the biggest question about DJ Lagway, for Jesse Simonton, comes down to whether or not Billy Napier wants to play him against what is an incredibly difficult schedule in 2024.

“But this is, we’ve discussed this already and I’m sure we’ll dive into it more throughout the offseason, Florida has perhaps the most hellacious schedule I’ve ever seen in college football when you’re talking about Miami, Florida State, and UCF in the non-conference, plus playing an SEC schedule…just absurd and so are you gonna throw a freshman into that fire or do you have to throw a freshman into that fire because your job is on the line and you need to sell hope, the future, that this is something you can be excited about? It’s its own unique situation that I think is really gonna be why people are kind of tuning into Florida because you see that win total. The expectations are low,” Simonton said.

“Everyone is kind of down on Billy, but can Lagway provide a spark or does Billy have to lean on him to say, ‘Hey, I need you to provide a spark?’ And what sort of pressure does that put on a freshman who, again, is ranked about as high as anyone who we’ve had in the country at On3 this past cycle.”

DJ Lagway had a fantastic senior season in high school

On3’s Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power recently released superlatives for some of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 cycle. That included DJ Lagway, for his fantastic senior season.

“DJ Lagway had a phenomenal senior season at Willis (Texas) High. The Florida signee posted the best production of any top 2024 quarterback, while playing good competition – and it’s not particularly close. Lagway completed 72.1% of his passes for 4,634 yards and 58 touchdowns against eight interceptions at 11.5 yards per attempt. He also rushed 957 yards and 16 touchdowns on 99 attempts. He averaged 430 total yards and 5.7 total touchdowns per game – truly stellar marks by any measure,” Power wrote.

“This is all while leading Willis to a 12-1 record and the best season in school history. Lagway has long been considered one of the most physically gifted 2024 signal callers. At 6-foot-2.5, 230 pounds, he pairs a strong arm with plus rushing ability in a college-ready frame. The senior season saw Lagway take the next step as a player on Friday nights, igniting a rise in the rankings and his status as a new Five-Star Plus+ prospect.”