ChompTalk.com

Florida freshman quarterback DJ Lagway will make the first start of his collegiate career on Saturday against Samford, Gators’ head coach Billy Napier said in a news conference Wednesday.

The news of Lagway’s start comes four days after Florida’s opening-season 41-17 loss to the Miami Hurricanes where senior starter Graham Mertz was injured and has been in concussion protocol since.

Lagway, who was set to sit behind Mertz for the beginning of the season and learn from the veteran, entered for Mertz last weekend for the fourth quarter. Lagway ran three drives at QB against Miami and looked good. He went 3-for-6 with 31 yards in the air and one interception and added 20 rushing yards on four carries.

The five-star prospect put together Florida’s most complete drive of the game, which ended in a Treyaun Webb one-yard touchdown run. In the series, he completed two passes for first downs to Eugene Wilson III and had Florida’s only third-down conversion of the game with a 16-yard scamper to put the Gators in a first-and-goal opportunity.

Lagway entered UF as the most sought-after quarterback in the country. In his senior year at Willis High School in Texas, Lagway had 74 total touchdowns, 58 in the air and 16 on the ground. The dual-threat star was named the 2023 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year and MaxPreps Player of the Year, among other accolades in his stellar high school career.

While Mertz’s presence at the quarterback position has been steady and consistent since joining the team last season, Lagway brings a different type of excitement to a program at a low point after Saturday’s loss. His raw talent and incredible ability to use both his arm and legs to make explosive plays adds another layer to a Florida offense that was stagnant against Miami.

Gators fans have been waiting for the day that Lagway is named the starter since he signed with Florida in December. While the injury to Mertz is not the way many wanted to see it happen, the time for DJ Lagway is now.