Florida sticking with struggling QB DJ Lagway against No. 6 Ole Miss

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida is sticking with struggling quarterback DJ Lagway for Saturday’s game at No. 6 Mississippi.

Interim coach Billy Gonzales said Lagway will take first-team repetitions in practice this week but added that “competition is great for everybody.”

Gonzales benched Lagway at halftime of last week’s 38-7 debacle at Kentucky, replacing him with freshman Tramell Jones. Lagway completed 11 of 19 passes for 83 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. Jones was 9-of-17 passing for 60 yards.

Gonzales used a Major League Baseball analogy to explain his rationale for the move.

“If a pitcher’s struggling in the major leagues, what do you do? You get the next guy in, right?” Gonzales said Monday. “It doesn’t mean that he’s not a great pitcher. Just means that wasn’t his day. For some reason or another, it wasn’t breaking. For some reason or another, he didn’t have the day that he wanted to have.

“I talked to him about that. I said, ‘So you’re a great player, but I’m not going to let somebody just continue to struggle. I wanted to bring you out and let you refocus, let you gather, let you learn, and hopefully it’s a learning experience. It’s going to make you better this week when we prepare for Ole Miss.'”

Lagway has thrown for 1,762 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this season. He has eight TDs and all his picks since beating lower-division Long Island in the season opener.

The Gators (3-6, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) expected Lagway to show steady improvement after he missed most of the offseason while recovering from core-muscle surgery, pain in his throwing arm and then a strained left calm. But that hasn’t been the case.

He continues to regress after going 6-1 as a starter as a freshman in 2024 and now faces constant questions about his future with a program that is searching for its next head coach.

The 20-year-old Lagway has declined to commit to Florida beyond this season despite having lucrative name, image and likeness deals with Gatorade, Jordan Brand, Mercedes-Benz of Gainesville, Lamborghini Orlando, T-Mobile, Beats by Dre, Chipotle, Red Bull and others. He signed a promotional deal with Hollister just days before getting benched against the Wildcats.

“Lags is a good player, honestly,” running back Jadan Baugh said. “We’ve seen a lot of flashes from Lags. … He’s just got to keep his head into it, honestly. It’s been a rough season, having to deal with a lot of things as being a top quarterback. That’s a lot of pressure.

“Getting him to understand that we’re still here. We’re here fighting with him. That’s all it is.”

One thing Gonzales stressed to Lagway this week was to not feel like he has “the weight of the world” on his shoulders. He told him to relax and play free, fast and with confidence.

“I said, ‘What makes you unique? I don’t want you to lose that piece, either, because that keeps you sharp. You’ve extended so many plays since you’ve been here, and that’s what makes you great. So don’t lose that edge of saying, “I’ve got to just be a robot and get the ball (out).” No, I want you to be aggressive. I want you to take those chances,'” Gonzales said. “But do we need to hone in on making the decision at the right time to check it down? Absolutely.”

Also Monday, Gonzales said receiver Eugene Wilson III will have season-ending ankle surgery. So the Gators will be without Wilson and unrelated Dallas Wilson (foot) against the Rebels. Backup receiver Tank Hawkins also won’t play again this season after essentially opting out to maintain a year of eligibility.

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