Legendary Florida wide receiver [autotag]Chris Doering[/autotag] has been critical of the Florida Gators throughout the third year of the Billy Napier era in Gainesville, but a four-touchdown margin of victory against Kentucky in Week 8 has him rethinking things.
Specifically, Doering came away from the game impressed with true freshman [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag], who threw for 259 on seven completions. Lagway has a big arm and explosive legs, and he showed off both of those talents on Saturday. Although he ended the game with zero touchdown passes and one interception, six of his seven completion went for big yardage, often setting up a touchdown run for fellow true freshman Jadan Baugh.
“There are very few times in life where things live up to the hype, but I’m all in on DJ Lagway now,” Doering said on SEC This Morning. “I know he only completed seven passes, but watching his control of the offense, watching him run the ball early on, watching how cool, calm and collected he is, despite the chaos around him, has me feeling a little optimistic about this Florida team and has me optimistic about the future of the program.
“DJ Lagway is a star in the making, and I cannot wait to watch it unfold in front of my eyes.”
That’s some heavy praise from the former Gator and second-team All-American (1995), but it took some convincing for Doering to get there.
“I have been resistant to handing the keys of the offense at Florida to DJ Lagway,” he said. “I didn’t necessarily think it was in the best interest of the team to have a freshman out there in his first year in the SEC. There was no choice once Graham Mertz went down with the injury, it was DJ’s offense, and DJ, he has something about him.”
Of course, Doering knows a thing or two about good quarterback play in the Swamp. He famously reeled in “The Catch” from Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel to beat Kentucky in 1993 and is a member of the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame.
Since taking over the starting job, Lagway has earned near-universal praise from media types, but he’ll get a chance to show what he’s made of against Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas in the four weeks following the Gators’ second bye.
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