After recovering from a shoulder injury that limited him during spring practice, Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is now dealing with a lower body injury that’s required a walking boot ahead of the Gators’ fall camp, sources confirmed to CBS Sports’ Richard Johnson.
The severity of Lagway’s injury is still unknown, as is a timetable for his return to action. Florida was looking forward to getting its former five-star prospect back on the field in preseason camp after he was unable to throw passes in spring practice due to his shoulder ailment.
Adding to his list of bumps and bruises was another undisclosed lower body injury, which was apparently addressed earlier this offseason. At SEC Media Days, Lagway referred to it as one of the “[nooks] and crannies, little things that was lingering during the season.”
Perhaps this latest injury is a minor one and Lagway is back on the field well in advance of Florida’s Week 1 game against Long Island. The Gators may go as Lagway goes this fall; a healthy version could make them a darkhorse contender to reach the SEC Championship Game.
Last season, Lagway stepped into action after starter Graham Mertz went down with injury. There were some ups and downs — he completed under 60% of his passes and had nine picks to 12 touchdown passes — but the highs were especially high for one of the top players from the 2024 signing class. Coming into the 2025 season, Lagway is expected to make a jump and considered a possible Heisman contender with +2500 odds to win the award at FanDuel.
If Lagway does miss significant time, the outlook gets bleaker for Florida. Most likely, Louisville transfer Harrison Bailey and Yale transfer Aidan Warner would battle it out for the starting role.
Bailey, who also played at Tennessee and UNLV, has yet to win and hold a starting job through five seasons in college football. He has attempted just 171 passes in that time.
Warner is the only quarterback on the roster, outside of Lagway, who threw a pass for the Gators last season. With Lagway and Mertz both out for Florida’s game against Texas, Warner got the start in a 49-17 loss. He completed 12 of 25 passing attempts for 132 yards and two interceptions.
With games against LIU and USF in the first couple weeks, Florida could afford to hold Lagway out or give him a ramp-up period. Beyond that, the Gators will have to navigate a gauntlet that includes road games against LSU, Miami and Texas A&M with a home game against Texas in the span of five weeks.
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