Florida football defeated the Samford Bulldogs, 45-7, in Week 2 as true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway led the offense in a big way. With incumbent starter Graham Mertz sideline in the concussion protocol, it was time for the five-star recruit to shine.
Lagway threw for 456 yards and three touchdowns at a 72% (18-for-25) completion rate. He finished the game with the most single-game passing yards in program history by a true freshman, passing the previous record held by Chris Leak in 2003.
Lagway met with the media after Florida’s win and here’s what stood out from his postgame press conference.
On his mindset and how he felt he performed
“My mindset was just taking advantage of the opportunity. To go out there and compete with some heck of players around me. I feel like the preparation that coach (Ryan) O’Hara or coach (Billy) Napier, even Graham (Mertz), they helped me a lot with just making sure I was prepared so that was good.”
Talks about the deep throw that stood out to him from the game
“I’d say the one to Tank Hawkins. You know, that’s like one of my best friends here. So it was like, that was a surreal moment to get our first touchdown together. So it was pretty cool.”
On what contributed to his big performance
“First off, without God, none of that would have been possible. The performance I had, without my o-linemen blocking for me, without the leaders and the veteran guys being there for me, telling me that they got me, whatever goes good or bad, I feel like it was something big.
“Our receivers making plays, defense, they cleaned their butts off. The first half, even the whole game really, so I feel like this is the whole team aspect. The whole team. Everyone came to play.”
Lagway’s game preparation
“I said it right from the start. I feel like Coach Napier prepared us. He got us prepared. I feel like it’s like that every week. I feel like he prepared us a lot. I just feel like everything that they (Samford) did, we knew what they were going to do before they did it. I feel like it’s just preparation.”
Importance of getting playing time in Week 1
“That definitely helped my confidence. I just wanted to feel how it feels to get tackled in college and just see how it is on the field with, like, crowd noise, you know. 90,000 (people) in the stands. Like, I never had that in high school, so I wanted to see how it was.”
Lagway offers high praise to Mertz
“Man, Graham (Mertz) is the best thing that could ever happen to me. Him being here, just learning from a veteran player as himself, it’s just been amazing to learn and just see how to do things right. He’s a true professional. And that’s what I want to do when I get older.”
Why he chose to play for the Gators
“It’s two things. Coach Napier, of course, and the fan base. The fan base has shown me love since day one, so, you know, I’m a giver through and through.”
Up next for the Gators
Florida will play at home in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against the Texas A&M Aggies (1-1) on Saturday, Sept. 14. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.