The quarterback had an "action figure-ish" season.
CFB Analyst Names SEC Quarterback Who Was 'Action Figure-ish' in 2024 originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Florida Gators may not have had a perfect 2024 season, but they found a way to secure Billy Napier's first bowl win after going 8-5.
Another thing that Florida found was its quarterback of the future in former five-star prospect DJ Lagway. Lagway was the top quarterback in the 2024 class and has a chance to live up to the hype in 2025.
On3's JD Pickell described Lagway's play last season as "action figure-ish" on a recent edition of "The Hard Count."
The Florida quarterback threw for 1,915 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 12 games with seven starts.
"There's a lot of things he did last year that just feel action figure-ish," PicKell said. "The numbers don't tell the whole story. He made a couple of throws where you just kinda raise your eyebrow and say, 'Woah, that's different. Haven't seen something like that at quarterback here in Gainesville in a few minutes.'"
Lagway's first start last season came against Samford in Florida's second game. He threw for 456 yards and three touchdowns.
He did not start again until the game against the Kentucky Wildcats. Starting quarterback Graham Mertz suffered a season-ending ACL tear versus the Tennessee Volunteers, making Lagway the starter for the remainder of the season.
It did not take long for the young quarterback to grow into a leadership role with the team. He went on record talking about how he and his teammates felt slighted that head coach Billy Napier was on the hot seat last season.
The sky is the limit for Lagway, and people are starting to take notice, including Joel Klatt. Klatt ranked the Florida gunslinger at No. 7 on his top 10 quarterbacks list.
Lagway and Florida open the year with Long Island on August 30.
Related: Florida Loses Race for No. 2 Safety in Georgia to SEC Rival
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
