Brian Kelly, LSU preparing for both Florida quarterbacks with DJ Lagway injury uncertainty

The LSU Tigers are looking to bounce back from their loss to Alabama with a win over rival Florida. However, head coach Brian Kelly knows that this week the Tigers are going to need to prepare for multiple quarterbacks.

Florida has dealt with several injuries at quarterback and it’s unclear whether or not DJ Lagway is going to be able to play in the game. So, while Kelly praised Lagway, he did make it clear that he’s aware of the injury uncertainty that the Gators are dealing with.

“You have to prepare for both,” Brian Kelly said. “It’s certainly a quarterback that has a talent that we’ve seen on film in terms of what he does. We haven’t had a lot of games but we know of him, he throws a great ball, he’s athletic and certainly, we’ll prepare for both quarterbacks.”

DJ Lagway is a true freshman who came to Florida as a five-star recruit in the Class of 2024, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He was the top-ranked quarterback and the third-ranked recruit overall in that cycle, so expectations were immediately high. The initial plan was to have him sit behind veteran Graham Mertz, but a concussion forced Lagway into action, which then led to a two-quarterback system. That ended when Mertz tore his ACL against Tennessee.

Lagway was later injured and carted off the field against Georgia with what was described as a “soft-tissue” injury. He practiced leading up to the Texas game but was unable to play. Aidan Warner, a transfer from Yale, has taken over for him, completing 19 of 47 passes for 198 yards and three interceptions since Lagway went down.

This comes after Brian Kelly and LSU were criticized for how they handled multiple quarterbacks in the loss to Texas A&M. Once the Aggies made the switch to their backup Marcel Reed, it sparked that offense and swung the game. At the time, Kelly said the Tigers tried to adjust to Reed, leaning on preparing from similar styles of quarterbacks they’d already seen.

For now, it’s unclear what quarterback LSU is going to see this week. Even with injury reports set to come out later in the week, it’s unlikely the Gators commit to playing or keeping Lagway out until just ahead of the game itself. So, Kelly and the Tigers will need to go into the game on Saturday afternoon prepared, especially if they want to snap their three-game losing streak.