The Florida Gators have been on a roll in the recruiting world. Billy Napier and his staff have reeled in commitments from 10 different players, including several flips from rivals Florida State and Georgia.
Part of that, I believe, began when Scott Stricklin publically pledged his and Florida’s commitment to Billy Napier as their head football coach. Stability wasn’t certain and not knowing if the current staff would be in place certainly weighed on recruits. There was also the product on the field. For two-plus years the Gators hadn’t been able to sustain positive momentum. After back-to-back losses to Georgia and Texas, it looked again like Florida would sputter down the finish.
Then the Gators handled a ranked and favored LSU 27-16 at home. They held on to make it two underdog wins over ranked opponents, beating No. 9 Ole Miss 24-17. The win over Ole Miss secured a bowl berth, something Florida hadn’t obtained in 2023. It also showed a proof of concept. The Gators had two quality wins to hang their hats on.
“We’ve done a good job evaluating players and recruiting players. That’s not been our issue here. What we needed to do is prove ourselves on the grass, prove to recruits that we can teach and develop players and that our formula works and win,” Napier said after the game. “There’s nothing that is better for recruiting than winning. Ultimately, I think that’s kind of been the final piece of the puzzle is some stability and proving between the lines that your formula works. And I think we’ve done that for the last couple of weeks.”
They also have a true freshman phenom at quarterback in DJ Lagway. The kid from Willis, Texas won’t turn 20 years old until next August. He has a million-dollar smile and a right arm that NFL teams are already paying attention to. Lagway is the future of Florida football, one that we were shown earlier than expected due to a season-ending injury to senior Graham Mertz. Lagway is the player that recruits talk about meeting when they visit campus. He wears the jersey that little kids hope to find under the Christmas tree later this month. Lagway’s star shines bright and he’s just getting started.
He’s also smart enough to know that he can’t win football games on his own. Lagway said he’ll start taking his teammates who might be thinking about leaving school early for the NFL Draft early out to dinner, to put his salesman cap on.
“I’m definitely going to be involved in the transfer portal and the recruiting class but the biggest thing is keeping the guys that we have here. That’s the biggest thing,” Lagway said. “Just making sure that everyone’s locked in and we can add and build on this momentum we have at the end of the season.”
The Gators, beginning with Lagway, have a slew of talented young players set to return next season. If Florida can retain players like Austin Barber, Jake Slaughter, Shemar James, and Tyreak Sapp, that’s a solid foundation to really make noise in 2025. Then there’s the transfer portal. Who wouldn’t want to come and play with a quarterback as talented as Lagway?
The message from Lagway to any potential transfer portal additions?
“I’d say the big plays, you know? Especially at receiver,” he said. “You’re going to get the ball. We’re going to push the ball down the field, make some big plays and you’re going to have fun doing it.”
Watching Lagway as a fan is fun, getting the chance to play with and compete for a championship with him is even more so.
