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Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier gives important update on starting QB DJ Lagway

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Tyler Forness | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 4:01 PM ET

The biggest story for the Florida Gators over the course of the last six months has been the health of starting quarterback DJ Lagway. It's been a long journey for him in battling injuries, but we now have some clarity on his status for the season opener.

Head coach Billy Napier told the media on Monday that Lagway would officially start the game against Long Island on Saturday night.

#Gators HC Billy Napier says DJ Lagway will start Week 1.

“DJ’s been a 100% participant here in practice for several days … he’s having a lot of fun playing football and competing.”
— Zach Goodall (@zach_goodall) August 25, 2025

DJ Lagway to start season opener vs. Long Island

It's been a tough one for the Gators to deal with this offseason. Lagway didn't throw at all during the course of spring practice and that was frustrating on many level. At that time, he was dealing with both a shoulder injury and a hernia. Those have been tough on multiple levels, but he has gotten better, and started throwing shortly after spring practice.

Things got relatively quiet over the course of the weeks leading up to fall camp until word got out that he was dealing with a calf injury. A really tough one for the Gators and Lagway to deal with, as we've seen so many players have a calf injury tear their Achilles tendons.

Luckily, Lagway has been practicing on multiple occasions, including having some impressive highlight clips stemming from practice.