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DJ Lagway will be limited this spring, Florida coach Billy Napier revealed on Thursday.
Napier noted that the sophomore quarterback is dealing with a shoulder injury and lower body issue.
“I think our intentions here are to be very smart. I do think he’ll be limited to throwing activities, but he’ll participate in all practices otherwise. And we’ve done a lot of homework here relative to the things that he went through as a player. I mean, he was an absolute warrior and a great competitor that showed toughness,” Napier told reporters.
“And we’ve consulted with quite a few experts here from a UF Health and from a national perspective, as we do with a lot of our players in terms of second opinions. So I think in general, he’ll be able to do quite a bit, but there will be some limitations.”
The Gators want Lagway healthy for the fall, but for the sophomore to continue growing and developing. Napier mentioned using Lagway as the signal-caller during Thursday’s 7-on-7 work to keep him involved in learning the offense.
A 5-star recruit, Lagway received snaps beginning in Week 1 of his freshman season. The Gators were 3-3 when starting quarterback Graham Mertz was lost for the year due to injury. Florida finished 8-5, with the only losses coming when Lagway did not finish (Georgia) and did not play at all (Texas).
Lagway finished his true freshman season completing 115-of-192 passes (59.9%) for 1,915 yards, 12 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He was recognized as a Freshman All-American by the FWAA and ESPN.
Lagway’s highlight-filled debut season has generated some Heisman Trophy chatter entering his sophomore campaign. Lagway is currently +2500 ($100 bet wins $2500 for $2600 payout) at DraftKings Sportsbook. Texas QB Arch Manning is the favorite at +700, followed by LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier.
With Mertz out of eligibility and seeking to play professionally, Florida added 2 scholarship quarterbacks to the 2025 roster. Florida signed Tramell Jones Jr., a 4-star QB prospect on the 247Sports Composite as part of its 2025 recruiting class. In January, the Gators added Harrison Bailey, a 6th-year senior who began his career at Tennessee, via the transfer portal.
Florida is set to hold its Orange & Blue spring game on April 12 at 1 p.m. ET.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
