Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway has quickly fallen from Heisman hopeful to one of the Power 4's worst quarterbacks in 2025. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Lagway Among Power 4's Worst QBs, Per ESPN

Originally posted on Florida Gators on SI
By Terrance Biggs | Last updated Oct 3, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Before the season started, multiple publications and experts placed Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway for the Heisman Trophy. After four games, those preseason hopes dissipated. One national publication ranked him among the other Power 4starting quarterbacks, and that number is startling.

ESPN's Billy Connelly ranked Lagway 61st-best Power 4 quarterback in the country one month into the 2025 season.

Make no mistake, Lagway's nightmare season is as a result of many things. From injuries to missed practice time, to bad offensive line play, to poor play-calling, Lagway has not had many tools to succeed.

He can throw and connect passes at all three levels, allowing for yards after catch. When right, Lagway can show every possible athletic tool and mental trait needed to dominate. In contrast, when something looks amiss, it becomes easily noticeable. That is to say, when things go bad for Lagway, they veer horribly off course.

Connelly sees this.

"Lagway battled back from offseason injuries, but he has been a shadow of his freshman self," he wrote. "He's making no big plays (8.3 yards per completion), his already-high interception and sack rates have gone up—he's 127th in the former and 92nd in the latter—and his 1-3 Gators are projected favorites in just one more game. Barring an immediate course correction, this looks like a massive lost season."

Both head coach Billy Napier and Lagway have repeatedly said Lagway is fully healthy, but the missed practice time this offseason continues to plague the sophomore. Florida is hoping last week's bye week helped him catch up.

Next, the yards per attempt number, while correct, doesn't quite capture the truest essence of the struggle. Lagway averages 8.3 yards per completion, but he averages 5.6 yards per attempt, which is among the lowest in college football.

Describing a season as potentially lost after four games feels like a stretch. Lagway stands before an uphill battle; a monumental task while navigating the SEC season is quite the ask. That doesn't mean that he needs to attempt to cure what ails him in one fell swoop against Texas.

Yet, he can start building a strong foundation.

Texas does not want to give up the long pass. With a 4-2-5, they will attend to receivers first. Under those circumstances, why not let the tight ends find soft spots, connecting on solid, unspectacular throws? Lagway will not be able to throw himself and this team out of their 1-3 record.

Still, gaining confidence by building solid throws helps. Additionally, with Florida's speed and elusiveness at the receiver position, which will have a fully healthy rotation for the first time this season, they could wriggle free for large gains.

The first step on Lagway's hopeful climb back to better play starts in the Swamp on Saturday.

This article first appeared on Florida Gators on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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