58 TDs and over 4000 yards. With all that, will QB DJ Lagway become the savior Billy Napier and the Gators so desperately need? We learned that WR Kahleil Jackson will be out for the entire season because of his ACL injury. Jackson posted on his Instagram a few hours back that the surgery went well. However, losing him puts a major dent on Billy Napier and his entire roster. It feels like the 3 times national champs are slowly losing their hold on college football. Still, Billy Napier has some options left if he wants to salvage what’s left of his team and make sure the same blunder they made against Miami during their opener doesn’t happen again.

On Hightop Sports on September 7th, Shelton talks about what Napier’s best options are amid Jackson’s injury and DJ Lagway starting as the QB against Samford. “We saw Abrams and Hawkins on the depth chart heading into Saturday. Aiden Mizell is another one that we’ve been looking forward to seeing. These guys have been getting many reps from DJ Lagway,” Shelton noted. With Jackson out, the entire task of carrying the team would fall on these new secondary guys who have yet to have any major run for the Gators. The main concern would be how these guys pair up with Lagway and how the entire chemistry unfolds. LJ McCrae is another guy who can make some noise this year. While LJ is a true freshman, that dude has solid speed and arm length, which makes him a formidable opponent in the defense.

However, the Gators would also be losing out on some other notable players. QB Graham Mertz won’t be present because of the concussion he suffered, and Joey Slackman and Sharif Denson will also be out. While going up against Samford, we will be seeing a roster full of new guys. This begs the question if the Gators can even win their 2nd game of the season. While Samford ain’t a big deal, throwing new guys on the turf can cost Napier a heck lot. DJ is a prodigy and can lead the team to great success, but we still don’t know if he is going to pair well with the new roster. However, this ain’t the only concern that is looming over Napier’s head.

DJ Lagway would be leaving

We got to know on September 1st that Lagway had already hit the transfer portal. This guy was probably the next best hire after Jeff Driskel. And Driskel was hired back in 2011. So you can pretty much spot the issue from miles away.

Losing DJ would mean that the entire responsibility would fall on Mertz, and from what we saw in the season opener, Mertz still has a long way to go. It feels like the team that gave us 3 Heisman winners now has almost nothing going for it. Let’s wait and watch what Napier manages to pull off in the second Gators game.