Kirk Herbstreit Gives Interesting Take on Baylor's DJ Lagway

With rosters set, theoretically, for the 2026 season, takes are starting to fly in from the experts as we turn the page to the next season.

DJ Lagway is a popular name on the tips of the tongues of those experts as a former five-star quarterback that left Florida to come to Baylor to try and resurrect their program.

As fictional character Ben Parker once said, with great power, comes great responsibility.

Pressure is a privilege, or something you put in tires, depending on who you ask. There’s plenty of power, responsibility, and pressure on Baylor’s new signal caller in 2026.

Kirk Herbstreit is one of the most respected analysts across football as someone who works in both the college and the pro game. When Herbstreit speaks about the college game, there are few more credible as someone who has been around the game for more than a decade.

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Recently, Herbstreit joined ‘Crain & Cone’ to talk about expectations for some quarterbacks who are returning in 2026. He focused on LaNorris Sellers at South Carolina before turning his attention to Baylor’s Lagway as he attempts to succeed Sawyer Robertson.

“I went into last year and said ‘(LaNorris Sellers) is going to have a monster year,” Herbstreit said.

“He had played well and played through some injuries the year before. I was part of the hype train. I thought they had enough weapons around him to have a solid year, but they got off the radar pretty quickly. I really felt, if you looked at Florida and South Carolina, both quarterbacks did much worse than we expected.”

Expectations are an interesting thing. Lagway finished last season with 16 touchdowns, 15 picks, and a QBR below 60. That was a disappointing year for the Gators, who saw their head coach fired, prompting Lagway to return to Waco to try and resurrect his career.

It’s safe to say those numbers would be a disappointing season for the Bears as well.

Inconsistent play

Herbstreit would continue to talk about Lagway after discussing his disappointing 2025 season.

“I really thought we’d see some big years from both of them coming out of the SEC. Lagway to me… I can’t quite figure him out,” Herbstreit said.

“I thought, much like Sellers, we saw enough of him in 2024 to think he’d be everywhere in 2025, making plays. I had him against Miami early in the year, and his decision-making was indecisive. He didn’t look like the same player playing with confidence, but he’s another guy that dealt with injuries.”

Lagway is not going to have much runway to play without confidence, or have some struggles. Baylor does not have a cupcake to open the season, instead playing against Auburn on a neutral site for the season opener.

Furthermore, Baylor is facing a make-or-break season for Dave Aranda. Early struggles from Lagway could mean his coach gets fired midseason for the second consecutive year.

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Inconsistent play

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