As the Florida Gators and head coach Jon Sumrall begin to prepare for the upcoming spring season, fans were able to see a glimpse into former starting quarterback DJ Lagway’s experience during the most recent college football season this week.

When discussing his decision to transfer from Florida to Baylor this offseason, Lagway told CFB writer Mike Craven that missing the spring and summer seasons with injuries “is the hardest thing you could imagine as a quarterback.”

“Missing the spring and summer with injuries is the hardest thing you could imagine as a quarterback,” Lagway told Craven. “Being a 19-year-old kid with the weight of the world on his shoulders and not being able to do the thing that you love to do is really hard.”

Lagway, as a former five-star prospect and the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class, was widely considered to be the next great quarterback to come out of the program. The talented playmaker from Texas showed flashes of potential as a freshman, throwing for 1,915 yards and 12 touchdowns during the 2024 season.

However, concerns regarding a foot injury continued to linger for Lagway heading into his sophomore season, which affected his availability for practices in the spring and summer. Unfortunately for the former standout quarterback, this would lead to a tough 2025 campaign, as he finished the year throwing for 2,264 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.

In addition to Lagway’s comments to Craven, his father, Derek, also went in depth about the situation, claiming that if he could change something, he “would’ve told him to redshirt.”

“As a parent, if I could change something, I would’ve told him to redshirt,” Derek Lawgay stated to Craven. “That was a lot of pressure on a 19-year-old kid, and I think he did decent with it. He didn’t have the year he expected, or we expected, but it was good to go through what he went through because it will make him stronger later.”

Now, with Lagway out of the picture, the Gators are set to have an open competition between Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. this offseason. While Jones played in two games for Florida last year, Philo may have the upper hand over him due to his experience under newly-hired offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner.

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