How Florida's DJ Lagway and Texas A&M's Marcel Reed Match Up

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier believes he knows quarterbacks with his history as a quarterback himself and as an offensive play-caller. On Saturday, his quarterback, DJ Lagway, will face an important quarterback battle with Texas A&M dual-threat Marcel Reed.

Lagway has had an up-and-down 2025 campaign but turned a nice corner last week against Texas.

The former five-star played his best game of the season, connecting on 75 percent of his passes for 298 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. More importantly, his passes looked crisp, while his arm elasticity helped move the chains. After the five-interception debacle against LSU, Lagway bounced back without forcing the ball.

Still, Napier noted Lagway is still aiming to improve.

"To be honest with you guys, he's never happy with this performance. He could go out there and play close to perfect, and he's going to find some things that he can get better at," Napier said. "He's that way in practice. He's got a competitive edge about him. This has been a challenge, obviously, but he is on a mission to get back to playing to his potential. So he's had a great week."

Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway's 298 passing yards against Texas were a season-high. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Instead, he took the opportunity to scan through his progression and locate targets with accuracy and touch. In the future, the Gators need this version of Lagway to show up every week. The sophomore looked calmer and more relaxed, winning the SEC Offensive Player of the Week in the process.

Those traits and overall confidence have seemingly carried over to practice this week.

"He continues to get better," Napier. "I would say this has been his best week of practice so far—the seventh week of practice for him. So obviously, playing on the road in this league is a challenge. We know that we have to get ready for it."

Meanwhile, Napier and Florida witnessed an earlier version of Reed when the Aggies visited last season. In that game, Reed's first start, the sophomore confounded the Gators, torching them for 263 combined yards, accounting for three touchdowns.

The UF coach took note.

"I think he's just gotten better and better. That was his coming-out party last year," Napier said. "It was kind of an unknown going into the game, and then he played really well. I think experience matters, and he understands what's required to win. He knows the strengths of their team. I think he's got a good understanding of what they do. Reality is, I think he's benefited from a lot of new additions on that side of the ball."

Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed torched Florida last season in his first-ever start. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Reed's performance since that day in Gainesville looks somewhat uneven. Granted, he did beat Notre Dame at South Bend. However, his accuracy fell to 59.7 percent from 61.3 percent. While that may not seem like much, the dip in accuracy should ring an alarm in skill position players who seem to catch almost anything thrown their way.

In contrast, Reed increased yards per attempt to 8.7., highlighting Reed's supporting cast. Transfers Mario Craver (Mississippi State) and KC Concepcion (North Carolina State) add an intermediate/deep element to the Aggies' offense. So far, the duo combined for 54 receptions, 958 yards, and nine touchdowns, with Craver's 557 yards leading the SEC.

Meanwhile, Florida boasts its own additions. Freshman Dallas Wilson played in his first collegiate game against Texas last week, catching six passes for 111 yards and two scores and winning SEC Freshman of the Week.

Napier seems to want to see Lagway make the sophomore jump Reed has. With surrounding casts that rank among the best in the SEC, which quarterback will prevail at Kyle Field?

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