Texas A&M Aggies vs. Florida Gators Preview: Three Players to Watch

Fresh off 8-5 seasons, the Texas A&M Aggies and Florida Gators enter 2025 with aspirations of taking steps forward. For the Aggies, that means potentially making it to their first SEC Championship game since joining the conference in 2012. Which would prove to be quite a feat in the second season under head coach Mike Elko.

For Florida, 2025 seems to be a deciding year in the Billy Napier era. It will be his fourth year in charge, and while last season did see him win three more games than the year before, Gainesville will not be satisfied much longer with eight-win seasons.

Even though he will have to wade through what looks to be another challenging schedule, the pressure is seemingly on for Napier. The same could somewhat be said of Elko. While it isn't a job security pressure like Napier, there is pressure to go ahead and start showing progress toward making the College Football Playoff.

Now, the two will meet again at Kyle Field on Oct. 11, and it could prove to be a consequential game for both teams. So, here are three Florida players to watch in this matchup.

DJ Lagway, QB

Just like we would if we were listing key players for Texas A&M, the list would start at quarterback. This Week 6 matchup between the Aggies and Gators will see two of the SEC's young, but high-upside quarterbacks do battle.

For Florida, they will be led by a former Texas native in Lagway. The former five-star prospect will enter his first full season as the starting quarterback for the Gators, after he played behind Graham Mertz for part of last season, before taking over the job as Mertz was sidelined due to injury.

In 12 appearances last season, seven of which were starts, Lagway threw for 1,915 yards and 12 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He completed 59.9 percent of his passes while rushing for 101 yards on 51 attempts.

While his high school scouting report may have listed him as a "dual-threat" quarterback, Lagway's biggest strength is his arm. Yes, he does have the legs and athleticism to create on the run, but unlike other dual-threats, he is a pass-first quarterback.

While he didn't particularly put up gaudy numbers as a true freshman, Lagway has the traits and showed flashes of the talent that could make him one of the SEC's top quarterbacks in 2025. Seeing whether or not he can put that together will be one of the biggest storylines in this game.

Jaden Baugh, RB

Along with the threat of Lagway tucking the ball and running, the Aggies will also have to deal with a star running back in Baugh. The rising sophomore from Atlanta, Georgia, led the Gators in rushing as a true freshman, totaling 673 yards and seven touchdowns on 133 carries.

Doubling as a returner for the Gators, Baugh found success despite sharing the backfield with a then-senior running back in Montrell Johnson Jr. Now with Johnson off to the NFL, Baugh is expected to get an even larger share of carries as the top back for the Gators.

Tyreak Sapp, DE

For all the young talent the Gators have, they also have some experienced stars. None of which may be as experienced as the senior edge rusher Tyreak Sapp. He enters his fourth year having played in 37 games throughout his career so far, and he is fresh off the best season of his career.

Sapp returned for his senior season as the leading pass-rusher for Florida, totaling seven sacks, 47 tackles, 13 for a loss, and two forced fumbles, while playing in all 13 games. While he doesn't record a sack versus Texas A&M in last season's matchup, they will undoubtedly look to hold him silent again