Injury News: DJ Lagway Hit With 'Day-to-Day' Designation but on Track to Play Week 2
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Though the failed two-point attempt at the end of the Baylor Bears' 17-16 Week 1 loss generated significant attention nationally, the health of starting quarterback DJ Lagway coming out of that game will have a greater impact on the program. Despite his struggles, Lagway remains paramount to Baylor's success this season, and his play could well determine whether head coach Dave Aranda returns to Waco for 2027.
The Bears enjoyed a healthy Lagway for a single possession this past Saturday. On the final play of the series, he rushed to his right on a designed run and attempted to hurdle a defender. Lagway, who had the ball punched out by Auburn Tigers safety Eric Winters, landed awkwardly on his right ankle and eventually made his way to the medical tent.
Lagway returned for Baylor's following possession, but he wore a heavy wrap over his injured ankle. According to the broadcast, the training staff had to retape the ankle multiple times throughout the game. The injury clearly affected Lagway, who officially did not attempt another run over the remainder of the contest.
The latest on Lagway's ankle injury
On Monday, Aranda discussed Lagway's health.
"We have walkthrough today. DJ will participate and go through the walkthrough," Aranda said. "He's going for today, and we'll be day to day after that. We'll see after today how Tuesday looks and Wednesday and so forth. Right now, DJ's a day-to-day guy.
"If we get through day to day this week, we want to play him."
That Lagway has a path to practicing all week bodes well for his availability for Week 2's matchup with the Prairie State A&M Panthers. However, the day-to-day designation underscores that the junior signal-caller will likely remain limited in some way, at least for now.
How Lagway's health changes the offense
For myriad reasons, Lagway's health materially affects the offense and OC Jake Spavital's play-calling. Aranda acknowledged the degree to which the ankle injury and Lagway's compromised mobility forced Baylor to shift gears this past Saturday.
"A lot of the fourth downs and the short yardage and all these things, we had both packages of kind of DJ runs, and then really a lot of running in the game," Aranda said, adding, "There was a fair amount of runs in this game that were called. And, so, him going out or him being hurt really cut that down. And we had to go to another package for the third-and-short and the fourth-and-short calls."
Lagway used his legs to great effect over his first two seasons as the quarterback for the Florida Gators. According to Pro Football Focus, he accumulated 245 yards on designed runs and another 187 yards on scrambles, all over 93 total rush attempts (4.6 yards per carry average). Those figures remove the yardage lost on sacks, which the majority of collegiate stat keepers include in their rushing totals.
As Aranda noted on Saturday, Lagway registered two rush attempts on Baylor's first possession, including the play on which he sprained his right ankle.
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Jason B. Hirschhorn is an award-winning sportswriter and member of both the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America. He is a co-founder of The Leap, a Green Bay Packers newsletter. His work has also appeared at NFL.com, SB Nation, Sports Illustrated, and other major outlets.
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