$2 million transfer QB gets strong message from SEC head after entering portal

The NCAA transfer portal has opened for all college football players seeking opportunities at new programs in the 2026 football season. The portal opened on Friday and will not close until Jan. 16.

The 2026 transfer portal cycle will feature over 3,000 players across all levels of college football. The realignment of quarterbacks across the Power Four landscape has dominated headlines in the transfer portal.

One of the first quarterbacks that decided to enter the transfer portal was former Florida starter DJ Lagway. He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at his second school.

The 6-foot-3, 247-pounder arrived at Florida in 2024. Lagway was used as a rotational quarterback for the Gators until fellow Florida quarterback Graham Mertz tore his ACL six games into the season. He finished 2024 with 1,915 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions, leading the Gators to an 8-5 season with a Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl victory over Tulane (33-8).

The Gators were 4-8 in Lagway's only full season as their starter. He passed for 2,264 yards, 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, five of the interceptions coming in a road loss at LSU on Sept. 13, 2025 (20-10).

Florida fired head coach Billy Napier after a win over Mississippi State on Oct. 18, 2025. The Gators hired former Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall as Napier's successor on Nov. 30, 2025, and Lagway entered the portal a few weeks later.

Sumrall recently spoke about his initial meeting with Lagway after he got the job on the OutKick show "Hot Mic" with Chad Withrow and Jonathan Hutton. Despite the fact that Lagway left, Sumrall had great things to say about him as a player.

Florida’s Jon Sumrall, on DJ Lagway

“I love DJ, I think DJ is a tremendous young man…Nobody would ever say DJ is not a good person. Obviously a talented football player..Think the world of him…I’m for him being successful wherever he goes next, unless we play against him at… pic.twitter.com/28vmEqf4h0
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) January 7, 2026

"Nobody would ever say DJ Lagway is not a good person, obviously a talented football player. His good has been really good, I've watched it with my own two eyes, and I think the world of him," Sumrall said. "It was his decision to leave; he was not forced out by any stretch of the imagination. I'm for him being successful wherever he goes next, unless we play against him at some point."

Lagway visited a school Sumrall is coaching against next season in Florida State, but the Seminoles chose former Stanford and Auburn quarterback Ashton Daniels out of the portal instead. Ole Miss is the only other school on Florida's 2026 schedule working to get Lagway on a visit, but the Rebels would not use him immediately if Trinidad Chambliss has his eligibility granted.

Virginia is the other school Lagway has visited since the transfer portal officially opened. Baylor and Stanford are two more programs working to get Lagway in for visits, as they eye him as a potential replacement for their 2025 starters.