Former Gators QB DJ Lagway and Father Open Up on Gators Departure

Former Gators starting quarterback DJ Lagway's departure from Florida dominated headlines out of Gainesville during the program’s overhaul this offseason, with the once cornerstone of a Billy Napier-led Gators program transferring to Baylor after just two seasons in the Orange and Blue, looking for a new start back home in Texas.

Muddied by an injury-riddled first true offseason with the Gators, Lagway’s sophomore campaign in Gainesville would end disastrously, with almost as many interceptions as touchdowns thrown and a 4-8 record leading to an almost complete staff reset within the program.

Months removed from the disappointment, the former five-star opened up about the difficulties ahead of his final season with the Gators to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football writer Mike Craven, providing a look into a possible factor that led to the demise of the last Florida regime in 2025.

“Missing the spring and summer with injuries is the hardest thing you could imagine as a quarterback,” Lagway told Craven. “Being a 19-year-old kid with the weight of the world on his shoulders and not being able to do the thing that you love to do is really hard.”

DJ Lagway did not start throwing until fall camp after multiple offseason ailments. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

While Napier and the Gators' past regime did their best to downplay the seriousness of the many setbacks the young quarterback faced ahead of his second collegiate season, the consequences of such complications couldn’t be ignored once the ball was spotted on the gridiron last year. Lagway’s halted development was clear from game one for the Gators, with the once highly-touted freshman continuing to struggle mightily throughout most of the 2025 season.

Looking back on it now, Lagway’s father wishes he would have done things differently.

“As a parent, if I could change something, I would’ve told him to redshirt,” Derek Lawgay told Craven. “That was a lot of pressure on a 19-year-old kid, and I think he did decent with it. He didn’t have the year he expected or we expected, but it was good to go through what he went through because it will make him stronger later.”

Despite such regrets, Lagway still seemed open to returning to Florida this offseason, announcing he was “a Gator” before the season's end and even doubling down on his promise of winning at the university. However, after a meeting with new Gators coach Jon Sumrall, it became clear that the fit was just not right.

“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 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.”

Now preparing for his first healthy spring in a long time, Lagway’s journey has come full circle, suiting up for the Bears just two hours away from his hometown in Willis (Tx.). His dad, a former Bear himself, believes it was all meant to be.

“It is awesome that DJ is at Baylor,” Derek Lagway told Craven. “It was God’s plan to end up at Baylor and it is going to be fun.”

The former Gator star will have a chance to reinvent himself in the new year, with his past at Florida now just another question of what could have been for a very talented quarterback faced with adversity that they could unfortunately not overcome.