Lagway Snubbed from Preseason Media All-SEC Teams

The Florida Gators had eight players named to the Preseason Media All-SEC teams, but starting quarterback DJ Lagway was not included.

DJ Lagway is receiving consider hype despite being left off the preseason All-SEC teams. | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Entering his sophomore season, Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway is one of the most talked about quarterbacks in all of college football after going 6-1 as the starter a year ago, leading Florida to an 8-5 finish and its first bowl win since the 2019 season.

Despite this, Lagway was not included in any of the Preseason Media All-SEC Teams, which were released Friday. South Carolina's Lanorris Sellers, LSU's Garrett Nussmeier and Texas' Arch Manning were each given the nod on the First, Second and Third Teams.

"There's a lot of good quarterbacks in the SEC right now," Lagway said Wednesday at his first SEC Media Day. "It's just great to see, to be able to compete against some of them and to watch them further their careers and stuff like that down the road. I'm excited for them. Always praying for them."

As a true freshman, Lagway threw for 1,915 yards and 12 touchdowns while going undefeated in games he started and finish. His lone loss as a starter, the 34-20 loss to Georgia, saw him exit the field in the second quarter due to a hamstring injury.

After returning from his injury, Lagway led the Gators to a 4-0 finish in 2024 with back-to-back wins over ranked opponents in LSU and Ole Miss, the program's first win over FSU since 2021 and the program's first bowl win since the 2019 season.

"DJ, it's well documented the job that he did last year becoming our quarterback midway through the season," head coach Billy Napier said Wednesday. "I was most impressed with how he handled that, the type of teammate that he was, the humility, the character. And the guy was phenomenal on game day.

"He's just a great competitor. He showed a ton of grit and toughness, played through some injuries, and obviously I thought he grew every week as he continued to get better, and I think year two for him has got a chance to be really special."

While Lagway was not included, the Gators managed to put eight players on the preseason all-conference teams.

Offensive linemen Jake Slaughter and Austin Barber were each named to the First Team; defensive tackle Caleb Banks, long snapper Rocco Underwood and kicker Trey Smack (placekicker and kickoff specialists) to the second team; and edge rusher Tyreak Sapp, receiver Eugene Wilson III (all-purpose) and running back Jadan Baugh (all-purpose) to the Third Team.

Slaughter, an AP First-Team All-American a year ago, and Banks, a breakout draft prospect last season, both joined Lagway at SEC Media Day.

"One of the great things about this 2025 team that we have is we have a lot of football players that have leadership traits," Napier said. "We got some guys that have been through some battles. They have experience. It was tough to pick three guys to be here today. We got a lot of guys that are deserving. And I really believe that's the most crucial ingredient when you start talking about having a great team, the character of the players that are leading the team. And I think we have that with this group."

The Gators were picked to finish sixth in the SEC and held two votes to win the conference. Florida opens the 2025 season on Aug. 30 at home against Long Island.