Confidence, Lack of Reps Likely Culprits in Lagway's Slow Start for Gators

As the season goes on, we'll get an idea of how much of this could be a confidence issue or a lack of offseason work for the Florida Gators QB

Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway could be struggling to escape his own mind | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

A year ago, D.J. Lagway stepped into the starting spot due to Graham Mertz's injury. The freshman displayed an aggressive confidence as the Florida Gators went on their magical run to a bowl game. 

Now, have the early troubles destroyed his confidence? Let’s look at how his season has played out to determine what could be a mental game for him. 

Like a basketball player who builds rhythm when he shoots, confidence is the result of repetition mixed with timing and confidence. As a freshman, Lagway demonstrated that. 

As a true freshman, he displayed a too-unbothered-to-play-scared mentality that saw him zip the ball around the field and develop a feel for the game, even at SEC speed. Everything seemed primed for a breakout season. Publications listed him as a Heisman Trophy dark horse. After four games, questions abound as to what went wrong with the Gators' signal caller.

It Could Have Been Different

In retrospect, the South Florida game was a trap game. Going 23-of-33 is a fantastic day, but against a defense that you should move the ball against, the 6.7 yards per attempt doesn't really inspire faith. At the same time, if Vernell Brown III catches the third-down pass, Florida wins the game, and the following two games are viewed in a drastically different way. Still, you need to win the games that you are favored in and possess an overwhelming advantage.

The LSU game, from an overarching view, could be the one that got away. LSU struggles on offense with a quarterback who cannot stop bird-dogging wideouts and an offensive coordinator who doesn't like to run the ball. It was set up to be a prime occasion where the Gators could work their way downfield, taking an appropriate vertical shot.

Yet, Lagway exercises too high a belief in his arm strength and gifted LSU five interceptions, one of which ended up in a pick-six. On each throw, the sophomore tried to muscle the ball into double, even triple, coverage situations that would label a wideout covered.

Does Lagway Just Need Time?

During media availability this week, Billy Napier spoke of the effort to get his quarterback back up to speed after missing time over the summer.

"I think that he improves with each full-speed rep that he gets. We obviously had an open date last week, so that presented an opportunity for him to get more work. Obviously, we know about it; he’s had a very challenging offseason in terms of time missed, and I think that we’re trying to get him caught up.

“It’s all about feedback for me at quarterback. Every time I take a snap, or play a play, or process, or the ball comes off my hand, I’m self-correcting. I’m improving my process in terms of how I communicate, how I process, my decision-making, and just what I can get away with, my anticipation, and my accuracy, and I think that’s been ultimately the challenge for us—trying to get him ramped up."

The lost time caused by the injuries has clearly played a part in his slow start. Napier is hopeful that getting more reps will slow things down for him, and he can unleash the raw talent that helped create the promise ahead of this season.

Through this process, there is a risk of self-questioning, and self-doubt can creep in. So, what can Lagway do?

Connect on a few shorter passes to build up a rhythm and timing. While they may not add up to chunk yardage, the ability to stack positive plays over negative ones cannot be understated. That work during catch-up could help any lack of confidence that he may potentially have.

Bottom Line

D.J. Lagway is Florida's quarterback and will be so for the foreseeable future. As a result, whatever inner tumult and doubt that exists within needs to turn into excitement. Granted, at 1-3, generating happiness is not something that people currently want.

However, Texas presents a prime opportunity to get back into the flow against a top opponent. Napier brought Lagway to Gainesville to thrive in big moments. He has another opportunity to win in a big moment when Texas comes to Gainesville.