How Baylor QB DJ Lagway Can Win the Maxwell Award

It’s not fair to expect DJ Lagway to save Baylor’s football program, but life as a quarterback is not fair by its very nature.

The hype surrounding Lagway’s return to Waco is off the charts thanks to his former status as a five-star recruit, and the need that Baylor had at the position.

Today, gasoline was poured on the fire. Lagway as listed on the watch list for the Maxwell Award, which is awarded to the best all-around college football player, and usually means the player who wins the award is at least a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

Lagway has plenty of talent. That’s undeniable. How can he realize his potential and win the Maxwell award?

We have a few ideas.

Jake Spavital

If putting Lagway on the Maxwell List was pouring gasoline on a fire, offensive coordinator Jake Spavital’s comments to the media were like dumping kerosene on top of it.

“Yeah, there's a lot. Like I tell him every day that we have to take one point of emphasis, you know, and it's about installs and situational football,” Spavital said on Thursday

“I want to see just the confidence that, you know, like when he plays confident, I think he's one of the best quarterbacks I've seen and I want to make sure that like he is as confident as possible going into this game and into the first game of the season and that's just for me just to keep building and working with him and taking daily steps and stacking days and growing.”

Calling Lagway one of the best quarterbacks he’s ever seen before playing a snap in Waco is not going to do anything to temper expectations.

If that is true, however Spavital should have no problem instilling confidence in his quarterback. Spavital has a track record of getting the most out of his offense, which is one of the reasons Dave Aranda hired him.

There may not be a more important relationship at Baylor than this one.

Build Pass Catchers

One of the biggest challenges on campus this fall is going to be breaking in new pass catchers along with a new quarterback.

Usually a transfer quarterback has someone who is established at the skill positions to throw the ball to. That’s not a luxury that DJ Lagway currently has. Gavin Freeman, Dre’lon Miller, and Louis Brown among others are going to be rotating into the lineup in an attempt to give Lagway weapons to find in the passing game.

Lagway can also help his cause by elevating those around him. Great quarterbacks are often asked to do that, and Lagway is no different.

Win

This seems like an oversimplification, because it probably is. Wins and losses are not a quarterback stat, but they are often attributed to the quarterback. One of the biggest reasons that Tom Brady is considered the greatest quarterback in NFL history is because of the amount of championship teams he played on.

Is that fair? No, but the quarterback often gets too much blame when they lose as well. In that way, everything balances out.

Lagway did not come to Baylor just to pile up numbers, he came here to win. His first test comes in his very first game as Baylor’s quarterback, a Week 1 showdown against the Auburn Tigers.

The Maxwell Award winner is often on a winning team as well.

Last year’s winner, Fernando Mendoza of Indiana, went undefeated en route to a national championship.

Going undefeated is not a requirement. Ashton Jeanty was not on an undefeated team when he won the award two years ago. Ditto for Caleb Williams when he was at USC.

It’s hard to envision, however, the award given to the best player will be given to someone who is on a team that goes 5-7. That was Baylor’s record one season ago.

What if, however, Lagway plays well in wins over Auburn, TCU, Arizona State, and Texas Tech?

That would likely go a long way toward winning the award, and restoring the roar within Baylor’s football program.

#Baylor OC Jake Spavital spoke with the media on Thursday.

Here are the 3 most interesting things he said — including gearing DJ Lagway up for the Auburn Tigers.

STORY: https://t.co/G9Og8tGbhF pic.twitter.com/Iuy9Lkt03i
— Baylor Bears On SI (@BaylorBearsOnSI) August 6, 2026

Add us as a preferred source on Google