In athletic competition, you never want to provide bulletin board material for your opponent. This is especially the case when you’re about to play a rival with nothing to lose. There is no more apt description of the Florida Gators — a 3-4 (2-2 SEC) team who just fired its coach last week — than that.
The Georgia Bulldogs know anything can happen in these matchups, and aren’t giving Florida anything to work with, in terms of pre-game disrespect. This week, Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart hyped up nearly every aspect of the Gators’ roster, including talented quarterback DJ Lagway.
“He’s a really bright player. Got a bright future,” Smart said. “He’s done a good job. He’s improved. We’ve kind of watched him grow in front of our eyes.”
Lagway was the No. 7 overall player of the 2024 recruiting class, according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings. He has made some strides as a passer; his completion percentage (65.3%) is up 5.4% from his 2024 mark (59.9%). However, he has sacrificed much of his aggressiveness — 10.0 yards per attempt last year, 6.8 this year — in the process. This, and his still prevalent turnover issues (9 TD: 9 INT) have dropped his passer efficiency rating almost 30 points (127.8) from where it was in 2024 (154.9), per Sports Reference.
Nobody will deny Lagway’s ability and ceiling remain as high as ever. Occasionally, it takes some people more time to figure things out than others. The way Georgia’s defense has played at times this year, he very well could resemble the player people expect him to be this weekend. Smart just wants to make sure if he does, that it’s not because of external factors. Georgia and Florida will kick off at 3:30 p.m. E.T. on Saturday afternoon (ABC).
