We’re just two weeks into the college football season but Florida is already altering its plan at quarterback. The Gators will play both Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway every game moving forward this season, head coach Billy Napier announced on Monday.
“Our intention the entire time has been to play DJ in every game,” Napier said. “Obviously, he gets a little bit more experienced each week. And certainly, for him to have the opportunity to be the starter, prepare with the ones and then go play, and the way he did that — the poise, the composure — I just think it shows that he’s ready to do what we intend to do with him going forward. It’s a blessing to have two really good quarterbacks and certainly one with a ton of experience and one without. But there’s no doubt both of these guys will make us harder to defend. We intend to use both of them.”
Mertz is the veteran in Florida’s quarterback room. He started for the Gators all last season after transferring in from Wisconsin. The 6-foot-3 quarterback entered the season as Florida’s undisputed starter but he struggled in the Gators’ season opening loss against Miami.
Against the Hurricans, Mertz completed just 11-of-20 passes for 91 yards and an interception before suffering a concussion in the second half.
The concussion caused Mertz to miss Florida’s week two matchup against Samford which is where five-star freshman DJ Lagway enters the scene. The highly touted quarterback played in the second half of the Miami game after Mertz suffered the injury and played the entirety of the game against Samford.
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The talented freshman played well against Samford, completing 18-of-25 passes for 456 yards and three touchdowns while adding 16 yards on the ground.
While Mertz could potentially return to the field this week against Texas A&M, Florida will keep playing Lagway at least in some capacity. Napier’s seat is incredibly hot after two average seasons and a very poor start to the 2024 season. While he looks to keep his job, playing the younger quarterback makes sense as to sell optimism for the future of the Gators’ program.
Florida has an incredibly challenging schedule with last week’s game against Samford being its only definitive win on the schedule. The Gators have five matchups against current top 25 teams with four of those teams currently residing in the top 10.
Napier and the Gators travel to Neyland Stadium on Oct. 12 for a critical SEC matchup. Napier is 1-1 against Tennessee during his career with a loss in Knoxville during the 2022 season and a win in Gainesville during the 2023 season.
When Florida comes to Knoxville this October, Tennessee could see multiple quarterbacks if Florida continues on with its current plan.
