Lagway Named to Maxwell Award Watchlist

Florida Gators sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway was named to the 89th Maxwell Award preseason watch list, the Maxwell Football Club announced Monday. He is one of 80 players across all of college football to be named to the watch list.

The award is given to the college football player of the year at the end of each season.

Lagway enters his first season as a full-fledged starter after taking over for Graham Mertz midway through the 2024 season. Going 6-1 as the starter, the lone loss being the Georgia game in which he left early due to injury, he threw for 1,915 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions while leading the Gators to its longest win streak since 2020 (four), back-to-back wins over ranked opponents and a bowl win over Tulane, the program's first postseason win since the 2019 season.

However, injuries have been the major topic regarding Lagway this offseason with his hamstring injury suffered in the loss to the Bulldogs and reported shoulder issues and a hernia. At SEC Media Day in mid-July, Lagway downplayed the injuries, expressing his excitement to return to the field after being extremely limited during spring camp.

"I don't have a prosthetic arm," Lagway joked, a reference to social media posts regarding his status during spring camp. "I'm feeling great. Training's been amazing. I'm actually getting better at throwing the ball. I've been working on mechanics that's going to help my accuracy this year, help my decision making. It's been great."

Should Lagway eventually win the Maxwell Award, he would be the first Gator to take home the award since Tim Tebow, who was a back-to-back winner across the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Florida's other Maxwell Award winner is quarterback Danny Wuerffel (1996).

Semifinalists for the award will be revealed on Nov. 11, while the three finalists will be revealed on Nov. 25. The winner will be announced on the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec. 11.

Lagway and the rest of the Gators report for fall camp on Tuesday with the first practice to be held on Wednesday.

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