DJ Lagway has had a far-from-perfect season in his true freshman year at Florida. But he showcased some potential to smash through the board and come out the real crown jewel of the Gators, as he always meant to be. Lagway brings the type of talent that changes a program’s ceiling that has been mired in mediocrity for a long. He finished with 1,915 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.

The Florida QB also rushed for 101 yards on 50 carries across 12 games. Since the second half of the season, it was more of a trial under-fire deal for the Texas kid as he was pushed to the starting role, replacing Graham Mertz with a head-on contest.

DJ Lagway’s future shredded in jeopardy due to Billy Napier’s stubborn standpoint 

he was 2nd in yards per attempt (10) and second in average depth of target (11.8) behind only Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss (10 yards per attempt, average depth of target 11.9). Among SEC starters returning in 2025, Lagway’s big-time throw percentage of 8.8%. Well, that’s what the math-driven analysis holds things up. But, there is a thing called sixth sense and the basic fan’s instinct. Florida fans know what a superstar quarterback looks like. DJ Lagway has that quintessential championship alike archetype.

Certainly, he has room for improvement. Be it the costly interceptions or a poor completion rate, he needs to be watchful of his own errors and strive to become better. But there simply aren’t many players in the mix that carried out some iconic deep throws like him. So, there is balance.

He needs to handle the pressure better and work on his limitations while standing firm on his strength. But that’s not the major concern for Florida heading into another testing season. It’s Billy Napier’s stubborn decision that raises the concern the most. ”My worry is Joe, is not DJ Lagway. My worry is that when he wasn’t making plays and putting things on a dime guys around him, in moments, didn’t step up, that was the biggest thing for me. You had some drops in critical moments, can everything else around DJ Lagway be better? Billy, is, I don’t want to say stubborn, but Billy is in his own way when it comes to play-calling sometimes,’‘ analyst Blake Ruffino spilled.

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Well, Billy indeed didn’t make some strong cases on play calling in the past season. There is a long list of examples that can justify the stance. But to refer to just one among them, you can go back to the Tulane game, where Lagway heavily struggled to handle some zone coverages, culminating in a loss later. Internet went into a frenzy over Billy Napier’s faulty play calling that made things even more challenging for Lagway. Maybe a better concept or better timing could have changed the script, enabling the QB on the top to establish a good rhythm earlier on the offense.

Pertaining to another example, Ruffino continued, ”Like Joe, I think about the Tennessee game as an example right, If you go to overtime with Tennessee like you should have won that football game. DJ leads you to winning that game is very possible,”’. Lagway had some third-down issues, but he still had the hook, just not the supporters who could capitalize on it around him.

”I’m not confident in DJ Lagway my reason for him not being a breakout player, it has nothing to do with him it literally has everything else to do around him because I saw a team that struggled protecting the quarterback,” Blake hinted at a wasted potential.

Also, with Billy continuing to play calling in 2025, things can be more stagnant than ever. But Billy has been ridiculously hopeful of his decision.

Billy Napier seems poised in his play-calling role regardless of the flakes

Billy Napier explained why he would not give up on the Florida Gators’ head coach and offensive coordinator role. He held a press conference on the National Signing Day for the 2025 season. Scott Carter reported that the coach believes the team will be successful with him on the play-calling duties. Of course, Billy is not the only head coach to call plays in the college football mix. But the way Florida let their chance go over Tennessee and Arkansas by an extremely slow approach and some needless timeouts is outright concerning for the future of the program.

Billy has a chip on his shoulder heading to the next season as there will be no other way out to save his ever-controversial job with the Gators than a better winning season. No, not even the $27M buyout. So, it’s high time to pay attention and get rid of the claptrap without fail.

However, Billy can still get there with an astonishing receiver room, including Trey Wilson and others. He just needs to be better with his multiple roles in the program. Not hiring an OC just looks like not giving it to an unknown devil he can’t trust. But taming the known devil that’s himself will be a thing here. Keep your fingers crossed anyway because he has an ultimate ace in the sleep called DJ Lagway.