Florida coaches, players share first impressions of QB DJ Lagway

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•03/10/24•

ZachAbolverdi

Dj Lagway's 1st Florida Gators practice

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Gators opened spring camp this week, marking the much-anticipated debut of five-star DJ Lagway — even if only on the practice field. Lagway was the crown jewel of Florida’s 2024 class as the nation’s consensus No. 1 quarterback and the program’s most decorated recruit since Tim Tebow.

Lagway collected numerous national awards after throwing for 4,604 yards and 58 touchdowns as a senior, including 2023 National Gatorade Player of the Year, 2023 Bobby Dodd National Back (High School Heisman) of the Year and 2023 MaxPreps Player of the Year.

Here are the first impressions of Lagway from UF coaches and players.

Florida coach Billy Napier on finally getting to coach Lagway:

“I see a kid who loves to play and he’s fun to coach. He’s got unique ability – the size, the athleticism, the arm talent. But probably the best thing about him is just the work ethic, the desire to learn, the perspective and understanding and awareness that he knows he’s got a lot of work to do to get better. But finally, to see him in a football setting and just let him go play. Just to see him smiling and having a good time. He loves the game, and that was very apparent out there.”

Co-offensive coordinator Russ Callaway‘s first impressions of Lagway:

“DJ, I’ll tell you what, first off he’s an unbelievable person, and he’s a special talent. Graham has been doing a great job mentoring him, not just from a ball standpoint and not that DJ didn’t have that already, but just showing him, ‘Hey man, this is how you do it. This is how you approach meetings. This is how you approach practice.’ You know, everything, from the top down. And DJ already had that, or he wouldn’t be here. But I think DJ is going to be a great player for the Gators and I’m excited to be a part of his journey.”

Quarterback Graham Mertz on his mentorship role with Lagway:

“When I went into Wisconsin, I was a young guy, highly recruited, all this stuff, and that can be a lot. Obviously, I’m not Gatorade National Player of the Year and all this stuff, so it’s a different scale. So, I can bring things that I went through, and recently when I was learning the offense here, and how to teach him, how to grow at a faster rate. But, I mean, he’s doing a great job. The no egos thing, I think that’s exactly what I would say. He’s here to learn, he wants to grow, he’s a competitor, I mean I saw him out there today getting into competitor mode and it fired me up a little bit. So, it’s been awesome, it’s been what two months of it so far, two and a half months, but we’re rolling.”

Tight end Arlis Boardingham on what stands out about Lagway:

“His mind. His ability to grow and just learn off the bat. ‘What’d you do? Okay, got it,’ and quick learning like that. … DJ, he’s a great kid all around. He gets along well with everybody really fast. He’s definitely meshed into the program really quick, really well, and he’s going to be good. He’s going to be special.”

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