DJ Lagway enters transfer portal: Florida Gators quarterback leaving team after Billy Napier ouster

Football

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Image Credit: Lorenzo Vasquez, UAA

Florida Gators sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway has decided to enter the transfer portal after his second season with the team. Lagway, a former five-star prospect who largely committed to Florida due to the presence of head coach Billy Napier, will be seeking a new program amid a second season marked by inconsistent play and his coach’s firing in the midst of the latter’s fourth year leading the team.

“I am truly grateful for the opportunity to have been part of such an incredible program here at the University of Florida,” Lagway said in a statement. “… Thank you for pouring into me, believing in me and showing me nothing but love and support throughout my time in Gainesville. After much prayer, reflection and thoughtful consideration, I have decided to enter the transfer portal.”

Lagway reportedly wanted to remain at Florida, according to CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer, citing a source who said the parting happened as a consequence of a meeting with the new coaching staff.

New head coach Jon Sumrall reportedly challenged the signal caller, “question[ing] who Lagway is as a football player.” While Lagway was supposedly not seeking any guarantees, he felt he was not presented with a plan for his development in that meeting.

“He didn’t care about the money,” a separate source told Hummer. “He didn’t care about them bringing someone else in. He just wanted to hear, ‘You have the ability, and we want to coach it out of you.'”

It’s unlikely the Gators will tell their side of the story, but it’s clear that this is how Lagway’s camp is explaining the parting of ways.

Impressing as a true freshman while flashing playmaking skills after replacing injured starting QB Graham Mertz in 2024, Lagway completed 60% of his passes for 1,915 yards with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. However, after being promoted as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate in his sophomore campaign, he instead struggled in 2025, completing 63% of his passes for 2,264 yards with 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while starting all 12 games.

Lagway went through a tumultuous offseason and training camp in which he underwent surgery for a sports hernia but chose not to repair an injured shoulder. Instead, he rested the joint by not throwing at all until spring practice ended and only irregularly until the week before the regular season began. While working his way back onto the field over the summer, his return was further complicated by a strained left calf.

Ultimately, Lagway was unable to capitalize on the most important offseason of a quarterback’s development — the time between his first and second year in college. Whether it was Lagway’s family that chose this path or the advice of athletic trainers remains unknown, but he began the 2025 season having clearly regressed from his freshman campaign.

Despite barely practicing with the team, Napier decided to start Lagway in Week 1. He threw for 120 yards and three touchdowns in a dominant yet concerning win over LIU. The next week, he was unable to lead UF to a win over South Florida.

Lagway threw for fewer than 175 yards in six games and had three contests with more interceptions than touchdowns. He tossed five picks in a 10-point Week 3 loss at LSU and three more in a 31-point loss at Kentucky on Nov. 8.

While Lagway did play better (compared to his start) as the year progressed, he remained a turnover machine whose footwork and mechanics were largely to blame for his continued miscues. His 14 interceptions were the second-most in FBS last season.

Lagway always said the right things. He understood the responsibility that came with being the quarterback of the Gators. However, there was clearly a disconnect between his potential talent and what he showed on the field.

Whether that can be attributed to his difficult offseason, coaching, Florida’s wide receiver room being plagued by injuries, poor protection from the offensive line at times, talent level or a combination of all five is difficult to pinpoint. However, a fresh start was almost certainly in Lagway’s best interest, even if the Gators may have been in a stronger place to help him succeed next season.

Freshman Tramell Jones Jr. will be the favorite to start for the Gators in 2026 with incoming freshman Will Griffin, a fellow four-star prospect, likely set to serve as the No. 2 signal caller barring an addition from the transfer portal.

While losing Lagway does reduce the talent in the quarterback room, Sumrall and offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner likely would have approached him differnetly had they seen him as their preferred QB of the future.