Florida football inserts a new man behind the center, and it’s Aidan Warner. But if it had not been for DJ Lagway’s injury in the middle of the Florida vs Georgia game, the Orlando-area native would have remained on the sideline as a backup for longer. DJ Lagway is certainly the name everyone in the Georgia camp can bank on since Grahm Mertz’s injury walks out, Aidan Warner’s arrival sprinkles undeniably trickle some new hope to the mix. The third string to Mertz and Lagway becomes the new talk of the town and quite justifiably so. If it puts the hit on your psyche to dig deeper about the kid, we get you right on the spot.

Warner was probably destined for the Gators. He is a transfer from Yale, a son to two Gators, carrying a childhood full of the memories of watching the bleeding Orange and Blue play in the neighborhood’s winter park. While he was utterly enthusiastic, dragging inspiration from his big brother who used to play at the University, his tender age didn’t allow him to avail some premium mentorship at that time. But the early signs of a class player used to ooze out of him, and Shepherd, as usual, didn’t miss spotting his ewe.

”I saw some gifts in him. The biggest thing I saw in Aidan was his competitiveness. I guess he obviously always had to prove himself because he was so much smaller than everyone I was training. He always had that competitive edge,’‘ said Warner’s private quarterback coach Baylin Trujillo, ”He would always have one of the best arms that I would train but he was always the smallest,” but the future was inevitable.

However, if people have a genuine passion in their hearts, the Universe moves in their favor. This is not a cliche, but a straight fact about the Gators’ QB’s fairytale life. He was just 5’6 when the coach rejected him for training. But with just a few months, Warner unfurls beyond 6’ (officially 6’3” listed). Destiny started to shape up for the kid. But for his late development in the body, he still struggled to gather offers from a wide variety of schools. Regardless, he had a decent going with Yale but didn’t give up on his dream.

‘‘My dream is to be a Florida Gator. I don’t care if it’s a walk-on opportunity,’‘ he called Trujillo at one fine midnight and said, and the manifestation happened like magic.

The bigger the dream, the tougher the path to chase the dream is. But with a lot of hard work, patience, unwavering confidence, and a pinch of good luck, it all became a slick ride for the young prodigy.

How did Aidan Warner bag a dream offer from Florida Gators?

Trujillo, the Yale coach, had some solid connections with the Gators’ staff, so no doubt, Warner reached the right place. But with Graham Mertz returning and DJ Lagway already having his spot, Florida Regents showed very little interest in having any walk-on quarterback anymore.

After communicating the same to Trujillo, eventually, the situation took a pear shape for the Gators. They were left with only two scholarship quarterbacks in December and started to seek out some more. It was a perfect opportunity for Warner to strike on. He hit the transfer portal with his former coach, continuing the backstage work in establishing a connection with the Gators.

With a significant green signal, Trujillo asked Warner to shoot a private workout film and sent it to the Florida and Miami coaching staff. Immediately after the move, O’Hara and Dawson, the Gators coach, let Trujillo know that they are interested and would like to host Warner for a visit.

Even if you are just a football fan, you can very well relate to the slew of butterflies the aspiring redshift freshman could have felt in his stomach. Finally, on January 3, Warner and his lawyer parents visited the Gators’ camp. In an unofficial chat, head coach Billy Napier gave his nod. Warner, from his seventh heaven, could just shake Napier’s hand and say, ”I’m coming, I’m going to be a Gator.”

After dealing with some initial injury setback, Warner made the most out of his chance, finishing one of his two pass attempts while also rushing for a nine-yard touchdown. Billy Napier acknowledged the effort he puts in every day and eventually spotted him in the Lagway’s backup. Now with Lagway being under the radar, Florida can better be ready to get another quintessential superstar on their card.