Florida Football Friday Final: Gators open as hope questions linger for DJ Lagway, offense, defense

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Image Credit: UAA

The start of the Florida Gators’ season in 2025 is far different than it was a year ago when the program opened as an exceedingly rare Week 1 underdog in The Swamp. No. 15 Florida hosts the Long Island Sharks on Saturday evening inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as such an outsized favorite that most sportsbooks do not even have a line listed for the game. This as Year 4 under head coach Billy Napier kicks off with mixed expectations for a Gators team up against the most difficult schedule in college football for the second straight season.

While Florida has shed the skin of posting three straight losing seasons for the first time since the late 1940s, its win total projection entering 2025 is rather meager for a program that is used to competing for national championships — just not recently. UF is favored to win seven games or fewer, which would mark its sixth straight season not reaching double digits if that projection comes to pass.

Napier appears more comfortable and confident leading these Gators than he did across his first three seasons at the helm, and the primary reason, of course, is the talent of sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway, the highest-rated passer to sign with the program since Jeff Driskel in 2011.

While everyone involved with the program — including Lagway himself, of course — wishes the offseason program went differently, Lagway will have his first opportunity Saturday to prove that he was able to actually make progress despite a lack of snaps over the last seven months.

Napier said this week that Lagway’s general routine was to spend 3 hours rehabilitating on top of whatever team work he was doing to prepare for the season each day. It was to the point that Lagway spent the majority of his day — outside of classes — at the facility.

“We’ve got really good people. UF Health, being in the state of Florida, the network of people that we’ve built relationships with over time … we did a great job designing the plan. … We did our homework,” Napier said. “There’s been comparable cases at the next level and in other sports as well. We put a great plan together. DJ executed it; he brought the attitude and effort every day. Obviously, he’s made enough progress to be prepared [to play]. It was a team effort.”

In terms of what, specifically, Lagway has been able to accomplish despite not throwing the ball until the end of April and missing unplanned extended time at the start of fall camp, Napier sounded pleased with the second-year signal caller’s overall progress.

“He’s done a great job improving the efficiency of his feet. The delivery is much more concise and efficient. He’s spinning the ball. The velocity and the spin rate is the highest it’s been since he’s been here,” the coach said. “… The kid’s a hard worker. He’s consumed with improvement and getting better, and he’s definitely taken a step in the right direction.”

Lagway will play against Long Island on Saturday, but it is expected that he will have a relatively short leash. What remains to be seen is which quarterback will be the first to replace him and whether that person will wind up as the backup over the duration of the 2025 season.

Redshirt senior transfer Harrison Bailey (Louisville via UNLV and Tennessee) and redshirt sophomore Aidan Warner are primarily competing for the QB2 role with and freshman Tramell Jones Jr. hoping to join the battle as the season progresses. Napier has not shared any insight into which player has a leg up in the competition, and he confirmed this week that the Gators will not be releasing depth charts — not as a slight to the fans or media but because there is no reason to give the competition a leg up in preparation.

Still, Napier expressed confidence in all three players and shouted out quarterbacks coach Ryan O’Hara for the job he’s done preparing not only that trio but Lagway individually.

Six Bits

Florida’s receiving corps should be a standout unit for the program this season, even with freshman Dallas Wilson sidelined indefinitely. Napier basically referred to Wilson as a weapon in the wings, calling him a “problem” who is an “exceptional” player that will be a “major factor this year” for the program. In terms of those suiting up Saturday, redshirt sophomores Eugene Wilson III and Aidan Mizell are active and set to play. While Wilson and classmate Vernell Brown III may be the breakout players among the wideouts, it’s possible that redshirt senior transfer J. Michael Sturdivant (UCLA via California) is the difference maker given his experience and versatility. “He’s a matchup player,” Napier said. “We’ll build around him each week. … I’ve been very impressed. He’s mature, he’s big, he’s fast and he’s got good football intelligence. He’s improved as a player since he’s gotten here.” This is the most talented receiving unit the Gators have fielded in 15 years; now it’s time for them to go out and prove it.

No … No. 1: Junior defensive back Sharif Denson and freshman WR Naeshaun Montgomery will both don the No. 0 jersey for the Gators this season. Lagway will be joined by freshman DB Lagonza Hayward wearing No. 2. But for the first time since 2018, there will not be a Florida player wearing the signature No. 1 jersey on either side of the ball. Napier did not divulge details on the jersey selections, simply saying this week that he believed no one wanted to put themselves above the team in that position. It would not have made sense for anyone other than Lagway to wear that jersey on offense — given Lagway has branded No. 2, he certainly wasn’t changing — whereas defensively, an argument could have been made for a couple different players.

Back in black? In an item some — not all — have noticed, Napier has a propensity for wearing black on the sideline during games, in stark contrast to most coaches nationally that wear their team colors. This has rankled some, despite it being a tertiary concern compared to how the team performs on the field and the way he calls plays from the sideline. Napier has also largely worn black during practices and press conferences, though over the last few weeks, he had alternated between blue and white shirts. With it being game week, Napier was back wearing black for his final meeting with the media … and it will be interesting to see whether he has changed his colors — literally — come Saturday.

The anchor: Redshirt senior center Jake Slaughter is not only the Gators’ best trench player this season but one of the most acclaimed nationally. A preseason All-America first team selection, Slaughter is the key piece for a unit that is looking to be a difference maker for a quarterback and offense that needs as much time as it can get given Napier’s play calling. He will anchor a veteran, experienced unit that has been giving another talented group — the defensive front seven — fits during practice. Napier called their daily practice battles a “war,” especially on third down, seeming extremely confident about how both will perform this season.

The front: The defense underwent yet another significant change with the hiring of two additional co-defensive coordinators and yet another new defensive backs coach. Helping along a young secondary should be the front seven, which may surprise by being one of the top such groups in the country if everything comes together as the Gators hope. Junior Jaden Robinson and sophomore Myles Graham have impressed at linebacker all offseason, while junior Grayson Howard and sophomore Aaron Chiles return with plenty of snaps under their belt. This is also the deepest Florida has been at EDGE under Napier with redshirt seniors George Gumbs Jr. and Tyreak Sapp lading the way as sophomore LJ McCray tops a group of top-level contributors behind them.

Secondarily … The biggest question mark for the Gators this season is the defensive backfield, which has some experience but remains in prove-it mode entering the campaign. Denson, senior Devin Moore, junior Bryce Thornton, junior Jordan Castell and junior Dijon Johnson are leading the way, and while each has flashed, they have also left something to be desired. Redshirt sophomores Aaron Gates and Cormani McClain appear poised for breakouts, while freshman Lagonza Hayward should see significant saps in his first year. On Gates specifically, Napier said he’s so talented that he could play every position in the secondary.