David Pollack questions DJ Lagway having the 'it factor' for his next team

After spending his first two collegiate seasons at Florida, sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway will be entering the Transfer Portal to continue his journey elsewhere. Lagway entered the 2025 season with massive expectations after a strong end to his freshman season, but never seemed to get things going after dealing with the injury bug all offseason.

Across 24 games in Gainesville, Lagway completed 62% of his passes for 4,179 yards and 28 touchdowns. He however tossed 23 interceptions, with five coming in Florida‘s 20-10 loss to then-No. 3 ranked LSU on Sept. 13.

Ahead of his highly anticipated recruiting process, David Pollack questioned whether or not Lagway has the ‘it factor’ needed in college quarterbacks to take their programs to the College Football Playoff.

“If I was buying, the biggest thing for me with all of these quarterbacks and Lagway in particular, do you have ‘it’? Does he have the ‘it factor?'” Pollack asked on the latest edition of ‘See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack‘. “I can just tell you from watching from afar, I haven’t seen ‘it’.

“So if I’m buying and thinking this is my guy to lead the franchise, to stand in front of the players, and give the rallying cry to go into battle, I need you to have ‘it’. Graham Mertz, when we saw him on any given Saturday, he had the ‘it factor.’ He had ‘it’. He had the talking and the leadership part down pat.”

DJ Lagway led Florida to 8-8 record in games he started

Following Mertz’s season-ending injury in 2024, Lagway took over as Florida‘s starting quarterback for the final four games of the season. Over that stretch, he led the Gators to a 4-0 record, including a 33-8 drumming of Tulane and now head coach Jon Sumrall in the Gasparilla Bowl.

These winning ways under Lagway were expected to carry over to this season, but that was not the case. Although Florida opened the season with a 55-0 drumming of Long Island, it dropped its next three games (USF, No. 3 LSU, and No. 4 Miami) to fall to 1-3 on the season. It seemingly shook off the rust with an upset of No. 9 Texas on Oct. 4, but went just 2-5 over its final seven games to miss yet another bowl game.

“Dear Gator Family, First and foremost, I want to thank God for every blessing he has placed over my life,” Lagway wrote in a statement on Instagram. “I am truly grateful for the opportunity to have been part of such an incredible program here at the University of Florida. To my family – your unwavering support means the world to me. I would not be the man or the athlete I am today without your love, guidance, and sacrifice.

“To my friends and teammates – thank you for the brotherhood, the memories, and the bonds we’ve built over these past two years. I will carry those moments with me for a lifetime. To my coaches, the athletic training staff, and every member of the University of Florida community – thank you for pouring into me, believing in me, and showing me nothing but love and support throughout my time in Gainesville. After much prayer, reflection, and thoughtful consideration, I have decided to enter the transfer portal.”

With two seasons of eligibility remaining, the former On3 Five Star+ will look to reach his full potential elsewhere.