Billy Napier is now in year 4 at Florida, and not one season has produced double-digit wins. With each passing week, the pressure intensifies, and if not for DJ Lagway last year, the head coach might have been fired already. The freshman prodigy became Florida’s savior, going 6-1 in the seven games he started. His performances were so incredible that after passing for 300 yards in the Gasparilla Bowl game, Lagway became the first player in that Bowl history to do that. Surely, now that Lagway has returned, the 2025 season can be when the 10-win breakthrough happens, right?

Probably not!! At least that’s what a Florida Insider cautioned. Why? It all has to do with DJ Lagway’s chronic shoulder injury that has plagued him since he was playing in high school. Last year as well, we saw some issues with Lagway’s throwing arm, but the guy showed resilience, and we ultimately didn’t see him miss any games, at least due to his shoulder problem. But the 2025 season might not be too forgiving, and Cousin Shane, a CFB insider and the co-host of That SEC Football, hinted at the same thing.

“I think the bigger question is what happens when he takes a hit on that shoulder, right. I mean, he hasn’t been, and he wasn’t throwing because of a shoulder injury, not because he was like suspended or anything, so it was something where you got to watch out for the injury.” Shane replied when the co-host, SEC Mike, asked him, “This is his first time as the guy in Gainesville, could that negatively affect him?” But how appropriate is this verdict?

DJ Lagway undoubtedly had his concerns regarding the shoulder injury, and he missed almost the whole spring practice without throwing. That does pose a problem since the player might not have gotten the required time to gel in with the teammates fully. Then there were reports, especially from Matt Hayes, who reported that the shoulder injury might eventually require surgery. However, Lagway didn’t undergo that surgery, since that would have meant missing the whole 2025 season.

Instead, the QB had reportedly decided to postpone it for the 2026 offseason and went on to rely on rest to recover from any persistent issues. The QB did feature in the April 12th Blue Springs game, but was limited to just 5 snaps and all being handoffs. So, it was visible from early on that Lagway’s rehabilitation was cautiously approached, and any excessive work was largely avoided. Now the thing is, this could work in the offseason, but will Lagway be healthy enough when push comes to shove?

Billy Napier does damage control after Lagway’s concerns?

According to various reports, Lagway’s recovery is going well, and he is expected to be fully fit for the fall camp and is already throwing 45-80 balls per session, as per his father, Derek Lagway Sr. Even Dr. Tom Gornmely, of CORTX Sports Performance Center, posted pictures and videos of the QB throwing near Jacksonville. But the ultimate report came from Florida head coach Billy Napier.

“He’s doing good, three days a week, making really good progress. We’re doing exactly what we would do this time of year that we’ve done in the past. So, he’s on schedule. I don’t know if we put a percentage on it right now, but he’s where he needs to be to continue to progress,” said Napier in the recent SEC meeting. But what about the concerns?

Yet, the concerns are not just speculative, as Cousin Shane pointed out. Since playing Lagway without the guarantee of undergoing the required surgery will be nothing short of taking a gamble, that can either pay off massively or break Napier’s season midway. Hopefully, Lagway can gain momentum in some easy games against Long Island and South Florida initially, with snaps in rotation with other QBs. This would help him massively against the 4 top opponents stacked back to back (LSU, Miami, Texas, and Texas A&M). Other opponents like Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and FSU won’t be easy either, and that’s why the decision to play Lagway could be a massive gamble that can go sideways.