Florida head coach Billy Napier is entering a defining season. With only one winning campaign in 3 years, 2025 could be make-or-break. And his Gators caught fire late last season, silencing doubters and heating up the buzz around his job security. They took down rival FSU, dominated Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl (33-8), and knocked off two ranked teams in their final 4 games. But the spark? Five-star phenom DJ Lagway. Well, the freshman took over for an injured Graham Mertz and never looked back. But now, the pressure is on as Napier fights to ride this momentum or risk a dramatic turn in his fate.

On the March 22 episode of On3, J.D. PicKell broke down Florida’s 2025 outlook after major news shook Gator Nation. The buzz? DJ Lagway is expected to stay sidelined through spring as he recovers from injuries suffered in 2024. Right now, with expectations sky-high, this raised plenty of questions, and PicKell didn’t sugarcoat it, saying, “How concerned should you be? The obvious here is like—it’s not ideal. It’s never a good thing when your starting quarterback isn’t able to be at full go during spring practice.”

But PicKell didn’t stop there, and he dug deeper into why this setback matters. “To me, though, spring practice is a lot about laying the foundation for the fall. Like, the concern for me… is the reality that you finish the year so hot. Florida has a couple of top 25 wins. Vibes are immaculate.” So, momentum is everything in college football, but now, Florida has to hit pause because of Lagway’s injury. “You can’t have this, ‘Okay, well, what can we do next?’ You have to wait till fall camp to talk about what we can do next. So that’s the concerning part,” said Pickell.

As of now, with Lagway sidelined, can the Gators keep their fire burning? Or will they lose the spark before the season even begins? However, don’t worry—here comes the good news. PicKell offered a reassuring take on Florida’s star QB, stating, “Now… while it’s not ideal, I’m not losing a ton of sleep over it if I’m a Florida Gator fan. Reason being—you got to see what DJ Lagway was at the end of last season.” Look, last season, he threw for 1,915 yards and 12 TDs, proving he’s the real deal. On top of that, with his confidence and talent, some believe the Gators could make a serious playoff push in 2025. Simply put, with DJ Lagway, there’s no guessing, he’s the real deal, the sure thing, the proven investment Florida can bank on.

However, despite the DJ Lagway hype, Billy Napier’s program still struggles to silence major Gators’ concerns.

Florida Gators’ main concern

For the Gators, the real question isn’t about the offense. If the wide receivers live up to the hype and Lagway builds on last season, Florida’s offense should be just fine. But PicKell believes the real key lies elsewhere, and he said, “To me, the governor for Florida as a football team is going to be what they are in the front seven on the defensive side.” So, translation: The offense can shine, but if the defense doesn’t buckle up, Florida’s ceiling will be limited.

However, last season, Florida may have finished strong, but the numbers don’t lie. Defensively, they struggled up front, and they gave up more rushing yards per game than almost any team in the SEC—ranking 14th in the conference. For those keeping track, the SEC has 16 teams, so yeah, not great. And PicKell put it best, saying, “Realignment, I understand—hard to keep up with. But you hear what I’m saying.”

Right now, for Florida, if the front seven doesn’t improve this spring and into the fall, there’s no path forward. It doesn’t matter if DJ Lagway is out there, it wouldn’t even matter if Tom Brady suited up. Because if the Gators can’t hold their own at the line of scrimmage, their 2025 goals won’t mean a thing. And here, PicKell made his stance clear, stating, “Now, hear me clearly. I’m not telling you Florida has to be ranked number one in the SEC. I’m not saying you got to hold teams to less than 100 yards a game. But what I am saying is we have to be good enough to where we give the rest of our roster a chance to impact the game.” So, basically, if Florida can’t stop the run, it won’t matter who’s under center. Because the goal isn’t perfection—it’s about being good enough to compete.

Hence, for PicKell, the biggest question for Florida in 2025 is simple—Can the defense rise to the challenge? What do you think?