Gators' Message to QB DJ Lagway: 'Basically, I'm Their Guy'
Arguably the Florida Gators' top target for the 2024 class, regardless of position, made his way from the Lone Star state to Gainesville for the second time this year to attend Florida’s Friday Night Lights camp and Grill in the Ville over the last weekend of July, that being Willis (Tx.) standout quarterback DJ Lagway.
Though Lagway did not compete in the camp, he was able to see a little bit of what The Swamp is about when witnessing the competition in the stadium under the lights. Lagway came away impressed with the atmosphere and the pitch from Florida’s staff, and can’t wait to come back to town.
“I had a great time. I mean, just getting to be able to see the atmosphere, getting to see the people there, I definitely felt something so I can't wait to see it with 90,000+ [people] in the stands," Lagway told AllGators. "As a kid, I always wanted to be in the Swamp. It was very fun to see the vibe of it. So I’m excited to get back to a game for sure.
“Basically, I’m their guy," Lagway continued, addressing the Gators' message to him during the visit. "That they are mainly focused on me at the quarterback position.”
The vision for how Billy Napier plans to utilize the talented signal-caller is very clear: The Gators want Lagway to pick up where Anthony Richardson will leave off. Therefore, getting to see how the offense flows with Richardson at the helm this year is a critical factor for Lagway to assess.
“They kind of see [me] how they're going to use AR this year," Lagway explained.
"So, I'm excited to see how it plays this year, because I could definitely see myself playing like him in the offense.”
While Napier and quarterbacks analyst Ryan O’Hara are the obvious points of contact for Lagway since they work directly with the QBs, there is another assistant he has developed a close relationship with, one with ties to the state of Texas.
“I talk to coach Joe Hamilton a lot," Lagway shared. "He’s one of the main reasons we even got down there, so it’s been fun talking to him and building a relationship with him.”
Even though it’s still very early in the recruiting process for a 2024 prospect, Florida has done a good job of making Lagway a priority and positioning itself in his top group of schools at this time.
“I can say Florida is definitely high up there on the list. But really, every school I talk to is doing a good job," said Lagway. "I’m just working on building relationships with everybody, because on September 1 [when coaches can begin actively recruiting 2024 prospects], I’ll really see who’s interested.”
Lagway has not been shy about calling Florida his “dream school” since Napier and Co. extended an offer back in March, and he said the Gators definitely improved their standing after the multi-day visit for FNL and the Cookout.
Obviously, with a multi-day visit during the offseason, a prospect will have the opportunity to check out just about everything the campus has to offer. That was no different for Lagway, but he reiterated his excitement to venture to Gainesville this fall in order to absorb the game-day atmosphere.
“I really just want to watch a game. They showed me everything I needed to see down in Florida [during the July visit]," Lagway noted. "I really just want to watch them play in a game and watch how AR does in the offense.”
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