If you like DJ Lagway only for his lofty numbers and QB skill, brace yourself for some additional reasons to admire him beyond the gridiron. Despite not being a finished product till now, Lagway did his best to make a massive impact on Florida football last season. He racked up 18 of 25 passes for 456 yards—which set one school record in one category—and three touchdowns in the Gators’ 45-7 win against Samford at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The QB position worried Billy Napier for a while, but with Lagway taking the position of the leader of the offense, things looked alright. We wouldn’t be wrong to suggest that Lagway saved Napier’s job last year. The school loves its QB1, and the love goes both ways.

On this Women’s Day, the Florida QB chose to pay tribute to women in a much different way. Not opting to post stories and statuses with his paramount ladies in life, the prodigy decided to make it big for the aspiring young women athletes of his school. Through a partnership with the Gators’ NIL collective, Florida Victorious, Lagway is donating NIL dollars to women’s sports. The specific amount is still unconfirmed, but On3 was told Lagway is giving six figures for that noble cause. How he dictates to distribute the dollars is also not know, but Florida Victorious will probably split up the dollars among multiple sports, including gymnastics, women’s basketball, softball, and volleyball.

”Hard work is the lifeblood of everything we do. Every home run. Every spike. Every bucket. So many hours of unseen hard work. But I see it. I see the 25 SEC championships. I see it in the perfect 10s. I can hear the hours of dedication behind every pitch. I see the precision in every 3-pointer. I am truly inspired by these women,” Lagway said in a heartwarming video.

The kid also divulged how the role of women inspired him in each and every area of life, and thus, he is paying back just a small way of showing some appreciation. In the 12-game streak last season, the sophomore quarterback led the Gators to an 8-4 overall record while completing 59.9% of his passes for 1,915 passing yards and 12 passing touchdowns. He is soaking in some big dreams and hopes for this year, but even if he can’t live up to the bar and win games, just know DJ Lagway has already won Florida’s hearts big time.

But it’s not a surprise for coach Billy Napier, who thinks reaching out to other people is in his QB’s DNA, and it’s not the last time he did this type of thing. The Florida head coach, rather, believes it’s just the beginning of his QB phenom’s other side of the story. After all, the kid knows how to utilise his big money.

Billy Napier expects more of such acts of kindness from DJ Lagway

On March 4, during an interview with Robert Griffin III and Grete Griffin on their ‘Outta Pocket With RGIII’ podcast, Lagway shared his NIL learnings so far, and the Florida QB didn’t chew out the clutch of NIL destroying the structure of college football. Standing at the other side of the fence, the QB said, “It’s been a blessing, you know, from God himself, you know, just to be able to take care of my family for this short time, you know, and being able to take care of myself as well.” Even if you didn’t understand the honesty behind his remarks back then, by now, you must have gotten it right. However, it’s not that the Florida QB doesn’t indulge in a humble luxury once in a while. He did.

When he first had that money in his bank, Lagway revealed he bought a C-class Mercedes for $30,000. He holds a total of $3.8 M of NIL valuation to his name. He will certainly rise above the ceiling, but again, he won’t let it divert him from his true path, which is to pay back to football and society.

“It’s no surprise to me to see that he has the foresight and the big-picture perspective. I think it’s just in his nature, his family, they viewed this as a platform, there’s a purpose behind everything that they do. They live life with intention, living life to help other people,” Florida coach Billy Napier said in a statement.

Coming to the sports side, Napier, however, doesn’t want to take any risk with his ultimate ace in the hole for the 2025 regular season. So, he ensures to limit Lagway’s throwing activities during the spring exposure. But it won’t deter him from taking part in the practice otherwise.

Lagway received a brutal hamstring injury in the second quarter during the team’s 34-20 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs on Nov. 2. He was carted off the field and forced to miss the rest of the game. But Lagway’s resilience shined through when he made a solid comeback on November 16 in a game against LSU, bagging the team’s fifth win for the season.

He has a lot of magic to unravel at Florida down the stretch, but in case his injury acts up, Napier has options like Tyler Shough. Harrison Bailey is under his belt. But hopefully, it will be the only DJ Lagway era ticking off in Florida in 2025. Nothing more or less!