Florida quarterback DJ Lagway has “a pathway for recovery” and could return to play this season despite suffering a left hamstring injury that caused him to be carted off the field during the game against Georgia.
Coach Billy Napier shared on Monday that the injury was “less significant” than initially feared, and he did not rule out the possibility of Lagway playing in Saturday’s game against No. 5 Texas.
“A lot of good on that front,” Napier said. “A lot of that will be determined as we move our way throughout the week. … We’re going to exhaust every resource we have.”
Lagway was injured during the second quarter of Florida’s 34-20 loss to the second-ranked Bulldogs and was seen with his leg wrapped and using crutches on the sidelines in the second half. He became the second Florida quarterback to be hurt this season, joining starter Graham Mertz.
Replays showed Lagway grabbing his left hamstring after a 3-yard run. He was carted off the field to applause, with the Gators leading 10-3 in the rivalry game known as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”
Mertz is out for the season due to a torn ligament in his left knee, forcing the Gators to turn to walk-on Aidan Warner for the rest of the game against one of the top defenses in the Southeastern Conference. If Lagway is unable to play against Texas, Warner will start.
Warner completed 7 of 22 passes for 66 yards, with one interception that led to a late touchdown, and he was sacked twice.
“The kid did as good of a job as he could do,” Napier said. “There will be some plays that he would like to have back, but it’s a pretty big stage to trot out there in the middle of that one.”
Tight end Hayden Hansen agreed with Napier’s assessment of Warner but was less optimistic about Lagway playing this week.
“He stepped up,” Hansen said. “I can’t even imagine what was going through that guy’s head. I have a lot of respect for him. He left it all out on the field, and we’re going to rally around him this week and go out there and compete.”
Lagway, a highly ranked recruit from Willis, Texas, completed 2 of 6 passes for 47 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown pass to Aidan Mizell.
Lagway has completed 61% of his passes for 1,071 yards, with six touchdowns and five interceptions. His first two starts were impressive, throwing for 715 yards, with 10 completions of 40 yards or more.
And these weren’t just short throws that turned into big plays. He was hitting receivers down the field perfectly and leading them with accuracy. He looked like a perfect fit for Napier’s offense, which focuses on deep passes in a read-option scheme.
It’s unclear how Warner would fit into this style. How Florida ended up with a walk-on as its third-string quarterback is more concerning.
Napier has lost eight scholarship quarterbacks earlier than expected in his three years at Florida, including transfers Jalen Kitna, Jack Miller, and Max Brown. Signee Jaden Rashada never made it to Gainesville after a NIL deal worth nearly $14 million fell apart.
Rashada ended up at Arizona State for one year before transferring to Georgia. He is now suing Napier and a well-known booster over the failed NIL deal.
Colorado State transfer Clay Millen is on scholarship and is behind Warner on the depth chart.
“I would take six or seven (quarterbacks) if you gave them to me,” Napier said. “I think there’s a fine balance in terms of recruiting to that position… I just don’t think you can ever have enough of them.”
“Now, that being said, we typically carry four on scholarship and a fifth if we were able to. But nowadays there’s a lack of patience, and everybody wants to be the guy. I just think you are always looking for that fourth player.”
