DJ Lagway, one of the top prospects in the University of Florida’s 2024 recruiting class, is the No. 2-ranked quarterback in the country, He’s a 5-star player. He was named Mr. Football for Texas after this past season when he accounted for 74 touchdowns — 58 passing and 16 rushing.
All of these accolades and acclaim have to be overwhelming or surprising or posturing for a young man in high school, but Lagway just takes it all in stride. It’s not a cocky disposition. Yes, he expected the praise; he worked hard for it. It didn’t, however, change his persona. He’s grateful, accommodating and just a good young man.
Lagway was at the Under Armour All-American Game media day on Friday at the Marriott World Center in south Orlando and he spoke about his future. The All-American game is Wednesday at Camping World Stadium at 4 p.m. (ESPN)
“It’s a blessing. God has ordained me and chosen me to be in this position … I give all the glory to Him,” Lagway said. “I feel like I just worked for it. I wasn’t really like shocked. I just knew it was all from God and I knew the time would come that I developed and I still have a lot more development to go and I’m just excited to see what the future holds.”
5-star QB DJ Lagway checks all the boxes for Gators coach Billy Napier
Gators coach Billy Napier lauded the 6-foot-2, 225-pound quarterback, who is from Willis, Texas, on signing day.
“As much attention as he has received throughout the recruiting process, he’s a better human being, he’s a better leader,” Napier said, “[with] his character, his faith, his example, the way he treats people, his work ethic, his focus, his drive to get better.”
Lagway is looking forward to being one of the players who can possibly help Napier and the Gators build the program back to where fans expect it to be every season. He, along with Daytona Beach Mainland defensive end LJ McCray, are the cornerstones of this 2024 UF class and the DJ/LJ Foundation certainly appears to have the Gators on solid footing.
“It’s a blessing and I’m excited. It’s still surreal that I’m fixin’ to be in college,” Lagway said. “I feel like the University of Florida has everything you need, all the resources, so I feel like it’s a chance for me to be great there and just bring it back to what it used to be.”
#AGTG Just want to say thanks to @dctf @TexasBowl @kroger @MrTexasFootball for amazing experience and honor my son @DerekLagway as: MR TEXAS FOOTBALL ???? @TexasBowl last night. ???????? what a blessing‼️ pic.twitter.com/Cl0XCpQkz2
— Derek Lagway Sr (@DerekLagway1) December 28, 2023
He said a big reason for his commitment to Florida was the Gators’ huge fan following and the atmosphere at The Swamp, as well as the head coach.
“Just coach Napier and the fanbase,” Lagway said. “I’m just excited to get out there and put a show on for them.
“It’s really something. Something that you gotta experience [at The Swamp] to believe it. It’s something that I was blessed and fortunate to see and I’m blessed and fortunate to be able to play in.”
Fans in The Swamp will see a dual-threat quarterback with a strong, accurate arm and some breakaway speed in Lagway, as well as a leader on the field.
So what does Lagway say fans will see at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium?
“We’ll find out, but I’m excited to see and to play in front of the 90,000 fans and it’ll be exciting,” Lagway said. “I describe myself as a leader. I feel I can get a player to run through a wall for me. That’s the biggest thing because without the guys around you, as a quarterback, you can’t do what you do.”
On National Sighing Day, last week (Dec. 20), there was a bit of drama in the Gators war room as McCray postponed his signing, which was supposed to take place at 11:30 a.m., until later in the afternoon. The pause sent shockwaves through Gator Nation. Lagway said he was quickly on the horn with McCray.
“Oh yeah, I talked to him. I was trying to make sure he was going to sign and make sure he was gonna lock in,” Lagway said. “It went good. I was seeing if he was locked in and he was asking if I was going to sign and we kinda came to an agreement that we were both gonna sign.”
UF ended up with the No 15 recruiting class in the country, according to 247 Sports, and Napier was quite pleased with his final numbers for the 2024 class.
Chris Hays covers high school and college football, as well as college football recruiting. He can be found on X @OS_ChrisHays and on Instagram @OS_ChrisHays. He can be reached via email at chays@orlandosentinel.com.