SEC Network analyst weighs in on level of concern with DJ Lagway’s health
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Heading into the 2025 season, there’s a lot of hype and some concern surrounding the Florida football team and quarterback DJ Lagway.
Last season, Lagway stepped into the starting role following a season-ending injury to Graham Mertz. The Gators were 6-1 in games started by Lagway, with the only loss coming in the game Lagway exited early. Lagway helped Florida finish 2024 on a 4-game winning streak, generating early excitement for the 2025 campaign.
In the spring, Lagway did not throw to rest his shoulder, which was injured back in high school. At July’s SEC Media Days, a confident Lagway calmed most concerns as he fielded questions about the upcoming season.
When it came time for fall camp, though, Lagway was sporting a walking boot due to a calf injury. Though Lagway has since created some practice highlights, there’s still some lingering uncertainty about his outlook with the season inching closer.
SEC Network analyst Benjamin Watson weighed in on Lagway during a recent segment with the “Watson worry meter.”
“I’m a 7 (out of 10) on Lagway’s health primarily because it’s a soft tissue injury,” Watson said. “Being an athlete, understanding the importance of the soft tissue and how the kinetic chain, you know, sometimes when you got a knee problem or a back problem, it manifests itself in a hamstring or manifests itself in a calf muscle. We’re 2 weeks away from the beginning of the season for this Florida football team.”
Expectations for Florida, which checked in at No. 15 in the AP Top 25, all start with Lagway picking up where he left off last year.
“Look, if DJ Lagway can be healthy…. this offensive line is going to be one of the best in the SEC. They’ve got experience up front. They’ve got a great running back,” Watson remarked.
“I think he brings another dynamic, another element to this offense, which is why he’s rated as one of the better quarterbacks in the nation. But if you have a nagging calf muscle now and you don’t get it fully healed by the time the season starts, that could be that could be something that could, you know, kind of be in it, quote, unquote Achilles heel for the whole season.”
With Lagway having dealt with a hamstring injury in the 2024 season, his shoulder issue in the spring and currently the calf, the dreaded words “injury-prone” have come up. Watson, though, said he would not use that label.
“You never want to say a player’s injury-prone. I’m not saying that. I mean, I have more injuries than anybody ever, right?” Watson said.
“But when it comes to injury, sometimes one plays on another. And so I just don’t want this to be like a cascading effect for him for his career.”
Florida hosts Long Island University in Week 1 and USF in Week 2 before opening SEC play with a road trip to Baton Rouge to take on preseason No. 9 LSU. When it comes to Billy Napier‘s Gators, all eyes are on Lagway right now.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
