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SEC media days have dominated headlines this week in college football. The 2025 Florida football team is one of the conference's biggest wildcards this season. The Gators were inconsistent last season but showed promise due to DJ Lagway running the offense under center. They have much higher expectations this season because of their potential, but it all rests on Lagway after he recovers from injury.
Florida football has a long and proud tradition. While Billy Napier has had a questionable tenure as the head coach, thanks to DJ Lagway, expectations are much higher this season. Lagway seemed to lean into these expectations confidently during SEC media days and told the media that it did not matter who they played because they were the Florida Gators.
Lagway said, “It doesn't matter who stands before us; they gotta play the Florida Gators.”
Before spring camp started, Billy Napier announced that DJ Lagway would be limited due to a shoulder and lower-body injury. The alarm bells immediately went off for Gators fans, but he quieted that down and said he was good to go.
“I don't have a prosthetic arm, Lagway joked. “I'm feeling great, training's been amazing, I've been working, I'm getting better, I'm not just trying to get back to throwing the ball, I've been working on mechanics that's going to help my accuracy this year, help my decision making.”
“I'm feeling great. I'm excited to get out there and compete with the guys. Anytime I can be out there with my teammates, having fun, competing. I'm a happy guy,” Lagway added.
Lagway also told reporters that he does not think the limited practice will impact his development and that he should be able to make every throw he made last year and more.
“I'm going to make more of them, but that's not my biggest thing right now,” Lagway said. “My biggest thing is making the boring throws more consistently.”
Billy Napier thrust Lagway into the starting quarterback role last season, and the Gators' fortunes immediately turned. Lagway had 1,912 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns, and nine interceptions with a 59.9% completion percentage. As the top-ranked quarterback in Florida and a five-star recruit, landing Lagway was a massive get for Napier and is a program-defining moment if they can develop him.
The Napier and Lagway combination is a make-or-break situation this season because Napier was on the hot seat last year but saved his job. Now, he has more expectations, so if he blows this season, he will be guaranteed to lose his job.
