Gators Q&A: Is DJ Lagway still the QB of the future?
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GAINESVILLE — Florida heads to Kentucky seeking a win in Lexington for the first since 2019, when quarterback Kyle Trask came to the rescue.
Interim coach Billy Gonzales rallied his staff and players during last Saturday’s narrow 24-20 loss to Georgia. The Gators (3-5, 2-3 SEC) push to keep their focus and deliver a win against the struggling Wildcats, who are coming off their first conference win, 10-3 at Auburn, and could be on the verge of a coaching change themselves.
A matchup lacking national buzz or SEC consequences still raises questions about the two programs.
Is DJ Lagway the long-term answer at quarterback?
Lagway arrived as the Gators’ QB of the future. Whether he is back in 2026 under UF’s new regime now remains to be seen.
An injury-plagued offseason led to lost practice time and a loss of confidence. Lagway didn’t improve his fundamentals or ability to read defenses. A sophomore slump has turned a breakout 2024 season into a distant memory and UF’s closing stretch into an audition.
If UF can lure Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss, he would inherit a reclamation project with red flags and lacking a well-defined skill set.
The 6-foot-3, 247-pound Lagway has a strong right arm, but has also battled shoulder ailments. A dual-threat coming out of Willis (Texas) High School, Lagway lacks Tim Tebow’s ferocity as a runner or Anthony Richardson’s athleticism. Lagway makes his share of highlight-reel passes, but unlike Trask or Chris Leak misses routine throws that move the chains.
Consider his performance against Georgia. Lagway threw a 40-yard rope to Tre Wilson for a score, but later missed a wide-open Tank Hawkins on a pivotal drive and underthrew wide-open J. Michael Sturdivant by 10 yards with the game on the line.
After going 15 of 24 for 166 yards, Lagway sat 15th among 16 SEC quarterbacks in passer rating (128.46), tied for 14th in yards per attempt (6.8) and had 10 touchdowns against nine interceptions in 2025.
At times, Lagway has looked lost. Gonzales hinted the 20-year-old is tight.
“The biggest thing for DJ is just to continue to relax,” Gonzales said.
Lagway’s future at Florida could hinge on how he performs in the final four regular-season games.
Does Kentucky’s future include Mark Stoops?
The dean of SEC head coaches is fighting to keep his job.
A program with at least seven wins from 2016-23 in all but one season (5-6, in 2020) is suddenly on track for consecutive losing seasons.
Three SEC coaches — Sam Pittman at Arkansas, Auburn’s Hugh Freeze and UF’s Billy Napier — entered the season with their jobs on the line. Each has been let go. Stoops could be next.
The physicality long the staple of Stoops’ program has waned. With top-25 classes all but once since 2020, the Wildcats have punched above their weight on the recruiting trail. But their 2026 class sits No. 50, according to 247Sports. Other than the No. 5 class in the SEC in 2023, Kentucky’s past five transfer crops ranked no higher than ninth and as low as 12th in the conference.
Even a buyout of around $37 million might not save the 58-year-old Stoops, who is 70-78 into his 13th season.
Buyouts clearly are not a deterrent at college football’s top level. LSU fired Brian Kelly, owing him $54 million, and Penn State paid James Franklin $49 million to leave. Napier’s $21 million buyout and Freeze’s $15 million price tag were viewed as the cost of doing business.
Money is rarely an issue in Kentucky’s thoroughbred country.
How do the Gators fare in cold-weather games?
So-called “football weather” isn’t the same for Floridians as for most folks. Temperatures are expected to dip into the mid-40s Saturday night in Lexington, a danger zone lately for the warm-blooded Gators.
UF’s 31-11 win Nov. 30 at Florida State was the first time Florida won in temperatures under 50 degrees in several seasons.
Dating to a 31-19 win Dec. 5, 2020 at Tennessee, when temperatures dipped into the 30s in Knoxville, the Gators have lost five straight games when facing chilly conditions.
But Florida edge rusher George Gumbs scoffed at the notion weather would be factor at Kentucky. After all, Gumbs is a native of Chicago, where temperatures routinely are below freezing.
On Monday, the Northern Illinois transfer recalled shoveling ice off the field before practice at his former school.
“Y’all probably wouldn’t even be able to fathom the games I’ve played in before,” he said. “Going back to 2022, MAC-tion, on a Wednesday night game in Northern Illinois. There’s snow, sleet and then it might rain and the wind is blowing, too. That was just my life a couple of years ago.”
The Gators need to follow Gumbs’ lead in Lexington and count their blessings. On Sunday, the forecast is for temperatures in the 20s as a front moves through.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
Up next …
UF (3-5, 2-3 SEC) at Kentucky (3-5, 1-5)
When: 7:30 p.m., Saturday
Where: Kroger Field at Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington
TV: SEC Network
Favorite: UF by 4 points
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