A New Twist in Former Gators QB DJ Lagway's Portal Journey

Despite reportedly committed as a transfer, the former Gators' quarterback's portal journey is not over.

Former Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway is committed to a school out of the transfer portal, but he hasn't shut down his recruitment. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Despite reportedly committing to the Baylor Bears on Thursday, former Florida Gators starting quarterback DJ Lagway will continue to take visits and weigh his options, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Lagway, a former five-star recruit once seen as the ‘savior’ of Gators football, entered the transfer portal after two seasons in Gainesville, throwing for 4,179 yards, 28 touchdowns and 23 interceptions in his time at Florida.

Sources: Former Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is planning to continue to take visits before officially committing. He had a positive visit to Baylor earlier this week. One program that has consistently expressed interest is Ole Miss. pic.twitter.com/IL8PUO5kVA

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 9, 2026

The Texas native would take visits to Baylor, in-state rival FSU and Virginia while in the portal before it was reported he had committed to the Bears, where his father, Derek, played running back in the late 90s. The decision to head to Waco, Texas, did not come as a shock to many, with the campus just over two hours from his hometown, Willis.

Though the decision was announced by multiple respected college football reporters, with CBSsports’ Chris Hummer reporting that Lagway verbally committed to Baylor and even began recruiting for them, the highly-rated transfer is now expected to keep his options open. It has also been reported that an SEC program, Ole Miss, remains in the mix.

Lagway’s future has continued to be hard to predict, once telling Gators media “I’m a Gator, man,” before hitting the portal just a few weeks later. His departure from Florida was rumored to be due to an initial meeting with new Gators head coach Jon Sumrall not going well.

“When I met with DJ, I just said, ‘Hey, look, man. This culture is going to be built on toughness and love of football. If you fit that, great. If you don’t, then that’s not going to be good.’ I said, ‘Let’s talk through what this is going to look like moving forward. Would love to have you stay here, if you’re comfortable with some ground rules that are laid out.’” Sumrall said recently on the meeting. “It was his decision to leave. He was not forced out of here, by any stretch of the imagination. I’m for him being successful wherever he goes next – unless we play against him at some point.”

If the former Gators quarterback ends up sticking at Baylor, a future matchup with the Gators would be unlikely, with no scheduled meetings between the two schools in the near future. However, Florida is scheduled to host the other reported team in the mix, Ole Miss, on Sept. 26 in 2026, with a possible return to the Swamp for Lagway surely to be a big story in college football if it were to occur.