{"id":281946,"date":"2025-08-12T10:32:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T10:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/281946\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T10:32:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T10:32:12","slug":"dj-lagway-get-high-praise-from-respected-college-football-analyst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/281946\/","title":{"rendered":"DJ Lagway get high praise from respected college football analyst"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Florida Gators will kick off the 2025-2026 season on August 31 at home against Long Island. The Gators enter that match-up ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25 poll<\/a> for the preseason. There is some excitement in Gainesville for the season after the Gators finished last season on a high note. Florida ended with wins over LSU, Ole Miss, Florida State, and Tulane. The staff also put a bow on the year by signing Rivals No. 10-ranked recruiting class<\/a> and flipping multiple recruits along the way. <\/p>\n

The Florida Gators have an exciting signal caller on offense <\/p>\n

Another major factor behind the excitement within the Florida Gators fanbase for the season is sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway<\/a>. Last season as a true freshman, Lagway flashed his potential by passing for\u00a01,915 yards,\u00a012 touchdowns, and\u00a09 interceptions. He played a significant role in helping Florida finish the season at 8-5. Lagway started seven games, boasting a 6\u20131 record at the helm. He began the season as the backup to QB Graham Mertz<\/a>, but took over as the starter once Mertz tore his ACL on the road against Tennessee. <\/p>\n

In the latest episode of Josh Pate\u2019s College Football Show<\/a>, analyst\u00a0Josh Pate was asked which quarterback in the country he would take if he were calling the shots. He provided four answers, with Lagway named as the first one he would pick. Despite not being the Gators\u2019 starter for the entire year, Pate chose DJ Lagway because of his live arm displayed as a rookie. <\/p>\n

RELATED: Billy Napier says DJ Lagway had his best day of practice on Monday<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u201cI went with DJ Lagway,\u201d said Pate. \u201cI think DJ Lagway, at his best, can be the best quarterback in the country. Now, I have, just like you, heard the injury concerns. I\u2019ve seen the injury concerns. But I think when you blend raw talent and explosiveness and deep ball accuracy, when he\u2019s at his best, he can be better than anyone in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lagway\u2019s ability to stretch the field with his arm strength was a factor behind Pate\u2019s selection. The ability to do that as a freshman also brings a chance to develop that arm talent in future years.<\/p>\n

\u201cDJ Lagway led the SEC last year in completion percentage on balls thrown 20 or more yards downfield. And I still think there\u2019s a way for him to level up his passing game. 2025 should be his pop year. And I\u2019m not just talking about at Florida. DJ Lagway would be my No. 1.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oklahoma\u2019s John Mateer<\/a>, Clemson\u2019s Cade Klubnik<\/a>, and South Carolina\u2019s LaNorris Sellers<\/a> were the other three quarterbacks that Pate listed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Florida Gators will kick off the 2025-2026 season on August 31 at home against Long Island. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281947,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[5982,7,49,48,1788],"class_list":{"0":"post-281946","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-dj-lagway-24-willis","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-ncaa","11":"tag-ncaa-football","12":"tag-regwall"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115015342160387258","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}