DJ Lagway participated in 11v11 drills at Florida’s practice Monday

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway sat out another scrimmage this past Saturday, but he took a step forward in Monday’s practice. UF coach Billy Napier revealed that Lagway participated in 11v11 drills for the first time in training camp.

It marks the most involvement this fall from Lagway, who previously been limited to 7v7 drills this month.

“He took team reps today, which was good,” said Napier, who confirmed that Lagway did 11v11 drills on Monday. “Obviously he was hitting (his throws). He had a great full stack of throws last week four days in a row, didn’t scrimmage but did quite a bit of work that day, so yeah he’s feeling much better and he’s moving around well.”

DJ Lagway did not attempt any passes in the spring while nursing his shoulder and a lower body injury. He remained engaged in practice, mimicking quarterback drills from behind center, participating in some team activities and handing the ball off the spring game.

Lagway resumed throwing this offseason, but he missed the first two days of training camp and has been limited with a calf injury. Napier was asked Monday if he’s ever had a situation like this as a coach where his starting quarterback missed so much of the offseason.

“We’ve had all types of quarterback situations,” Napier said. “Look, this is not uncommon. I mean, every time I turn around, I hear about a guy who’s missing training camp or missed OTAs or can’t throw until next week or whatever. So look, injuries are part of the game, I think you got to control what you can control, you gotta be process oriented. It is what it is. We gotta help DJ. ‘Hey, look, you can’t control that, right? You can’t control the work you do today, where you’re investing your time.’

“And you check those boxes, you do the best with today, and then you move on to the next one. So, you gotta keep stacking days, and we’ve executed a plan so far that’s worked for him, and we gotta keep building momentum towards when it’s time to play. So, it’s not about yesterday or tomorrow, it’s about today, right? So we’re I think it’s important we view it that way.”