The 2024 season was all about DJ Lagway cheers amping up the Florida Gators’ camp. After all, the quarterback saved Billy Napier from losing his head coaching seat. Lagway ensured that the Gators fans no longer miss Graham Mertz. The freshman quarterback hit the gridiron and went 18-25 with 456 yards and three TDs, crushing Samford to mere specks of dust. With this, he had already picked up the NFL buzz.

As NFL Rookie Watch only had good words to describe Lagway. Their June 3rd post described Napier’s quarterback as, “DJ Lagway is built like an absolute TANK at the QB position.” But turns out that the 19-year-old is not in the right mood to soak up the NFL hype, after all, his college football boat is now sinking. Thanks to his struggle with injury. Fans were already sensing something was wrong when Lagway’s family went silent over his recovery. Last season, trainers carted the quarterback off the field against rival Georgia after he sustained a hamstring injury. This injury sidelined him for the rest of the season.

However, his shoulder injury is something that Lagway has been dealing with since his high school days. Unfortunately, it resurfaced during Florida’s spring practice in March. And guess what, here comes a new injury. As reported by Zach Goodall, the quarterback has a lower-body injury and is in a walking boot. On the July 28th episode of That SEC Podcast, host SEC Mike is already seeing a path full of thorns for Lagway. “Now, maybe Harrison Bailey surpasses him during camp, but I don’t know. I don’t know, man. All this is not good. And again, they’re saying it’s not bad, but I mean, the fact this guy’s dealing with three different injuries now, something’s got to give here, you know what I mean?” shared the analyst.

It’s college football, folks! They replace you like an old piece of cloth if you fail to give your best self. And for Napier, his wardrobe already has enough options with great fit. The duo, Harrison Bailey and Aidan Warner. During the spring game, Bailey, who transferred from Louisville to Florida in January, has already proven his power, completing 29 of his 43 attempts for 363 yards and three scores. Now we know why SEC Mike senses danger for Lagway. He further shared, “So, I just hate this for Florida fans. And again, hopefully, fingers crossed, this is nothing to be too concerned about, but I am officially not hitting the panic button, but I got my hand hovering over it, if that makes sense. Because this guy can’t stay healthy, and without DJ Lagway is the one that unlocks massive potential for Florida. Without him, I mean, you tell me. Let’s just say, and again, this is this is not gonna happen, right?”

Does that mean without Lagway, the soil under Napier’s feet has already started to loosen? The No. 1 quarterback in the Class of 2024 came off the bench last season and wowed analysts with a howitzer for an arm. As an NFL scout noted about Lagway, “He’s Micah Parsons playing QB. Defenders have more trouble bringing him down than any other player on the offense.” Taking a dive into old stats. Parsons has never had more than 14 sacks in a season, but he’s had at least 12 in each of his four years. We have an idea of how much Napier and co.’s 2025 run depends on Lagway. 

Now that he has again been deemed to be ‘unfit,’ he gives rivals a green pass. As SEC Mike noted, “For the rest of the fans like LSU, Texas, A&M, I mean, now maybe you just swung a game, maybe a Kentucky, an Ole Miss, a Tennessee, maybe you’re looking at it and all of a sudden you’re like, ‘Well, now Florida doesn’t look quite as formidable, do they?’” With this, doubts start to pile up for Lagway.

DJ Lagway chooses purpose during his quiet offseason

The effect of Lagway’s doubts did cast a shadow on EA CFB 26, too. On June 29, the Florida Gators released their list titled, ‘The Top-rated Florida players in EA CFB 26.’ While the quarterback found himself a spot, he did not get a top ranking. The No.1 spot went to Jake Slaughter with a 92 OVR, while Lagway held the second spot with 90 OVR. The ratings are determined after taking into consideration factors like on-field performance, position-specific attributes, and scouting reports.

Already, there was a lot of hype when it came to Lagway and EA Sports after he got featured on the Deluxe Edition cover. He got lucky to share the pace with the legendary Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. Fans were hopeful about Lagway carrying the Tebow legacy, who led the Gators to two national championships and brought home a Heisman in 2007. However, Lagway has kept himself out of the buzz and made the most of the off-season to be part of a good cause. 

The quarterback signed an NIL deal with T-Mobile. While DJ Lagway got to bolster his NIL valuation with this deal, which currently sits at $3.7 million, he got to share the camera with the GREATS. On July 24, David Soderquist tweeted a clip from his shoot for the T-Mobile commercial. That’s when observers spotted Lagway with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and former NFL star tight end Rob Gronkowski, who are part of the partnership. It comes with a special initiative, “Beyond The Game” campaign. The winner among the high school participants will win a grand prize of over $100,000. The Gators have their guy in Lagway. But can he carry the crown or crumble under the curse?