Lagway shatters UF’s freshman passing record

GAINESVILLE, Fla.– Highly touted freshman DJ Lagway threw for 456 backyards and three touchdowns in his very first collegiate start and Florida beat lower-division Samford 45-7 on Saturday to give embattled coach Billy Napier a brief reprieve following a season-opening debacle.Lagway completed his

first seven passes while filling in for Graham Mertz (concussion )and revealed why he was the consensus No. 1 quarterback recruit in the country in 2015. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Texan linked on 6 passes that acquired a minimum of 30 lawns– something the Gators (1-1 )accomplished a simple 14 times last season.”He is what we thought he was,”Napier said.Lagway hooked up

with Elijhah Badger for 77 yards.

He hit Chimere Dike and Hayden Hansen for 44 and 40 backyards, respectively. He discovered speedster Tank Hawkins in stride for a 36-yard score. He got in touch with Aidan Mizell for a 41-yard touchdown. And his shovel pass to Eugene Wilson III developed into an 85-yard rating to cap an electric efficiency in the Swamp.”Those are precise, right in stride,”Napier said.

“It’s remarkable.”Lagway broke the school record for passing yards by a freshman,

topping Chris Leakage’s mark of 268 set in 2003 against Kentucky.Even though it came versus the overmatched Bulldogs(0-2)– 38-point underdogs from the Football Champion Neighborhood– Lagway’s trip need to a minimum of give Napier stop briefly when it concerns determining playing time at the critical position moving forward. After all, Lagway did things Mertz hasn’t performed in two years since moving from Wisconsin.”My state of mind was to take advantage of my chance, go out there and compete with some heck of players around me,”Lagway said.The Gators led 21-0 following Lagway’s completely placed pass to Hawkins in the end zone, and ball game might have been more uneven had freshman running back Jaden Baugh not fumbled at the goal line early.Samford, which gave the Gators a scare in the Swamp in 2021, prevented a nothing thanks to a 75-yard scoring drive in the third.By then, the Florida faithful had actually seen enough from Lagway

to begin chanting his name. And now Napier has a choice to make: go back to Mertz or give a frustrated fan base a shimmer of hope amidst

what appeared like a totally dreadful season a week ago?Then -No. 19 Miami thumped the Gators 41-17 in Gainesville in Week 1, the kind of beatdown that had fans demanding Napier to be fired. Napier made it even worse 2 days later on by referring to reviews as”what some guy in his

basement is saying in rural central Florida on social networks.”No one would need a front-row seat in the Swamp to realize Lagway is special.He completed 18 of 25 passes and stayed in the game in spite of getting drilled two times while scrambling. Wilson completed with six receptions for 141 backyards, Badger caught 3 passes for 123 lawns and Montrell Johnson ran 15 times for 67 lawns and two scores.But the night was all about Lagway. “Oh, guy, I like that kid,”defensive end Tyreak Sapp said.”I already knew the night was going to be success for him simply by the way he works and the method he carries himself. He carries himself like a beginning quarterback. Truthfully, I wasn’t even shocked.

“The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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