Struggling young quarterbacks at UF, Texas face added pressure before matchup
On Aug. 15, ESPN Bet released its Heisman odds for the 2025 season. Arch Manning topped the list. DJ Lagway sat at No. 10.
The expectation was that when their respective teams, Florida and Texas, met in early October, the pair would be among the best performers in the country on teams with true national championship hopes.
How times have changed.
Florida, sitting at 1-3 for the first time since 1986, will host No. 9 Texas on Saturday. The stakes are still high, with Texas fighting to avoid two losses before SEC play is in full swing and UF coach Billy Napier aiming to hold onto his job.
“Every game from here on out, we have to have a great sense of urgency, great attention to detail, great intensity, everything we need to do,” UF linebacker Myles Graham said. “We need to make sure we bring that energy every single game.”
But part of the reason Florida finds itself in such dire straits is because Lagway has struggled, specifically to the tune of a five-to-six touchdown-to-interception ratio. The 95.8 passing grade on deep balls that brought him to national prominence last year is nowhere to be seen, having completed only five passes of 25 or more yards. In seven starts last season, Lagway had 24 passes of the same length.
Part of that might be that he’s only receiving 3.1 seconds on average from snap to when he’s being pressured. However, the sophomore, in some ways, embodies a national trend.
Entering this season, six of the top 11 Heisman candidates (per ESPN Bet) were former five-star quarterback recruits in 247Sports’ recruiting rankings. Only two of the six remain in most Week 6 odds updates, with all but one first-year starter dropping. The most notable who fell was this season’s top candidate, Manning.
The redshirt sophomore first-year starter has appeared uncomfortable through four games, including a 14-7 loss to Ohio State. The reason for his struggles — and many others’ — is hard to track, but expectations have changed for what a top-tier quarterback talent is supposed to be out of the gate.
“We’re seeing quarterbacks who haven’t started before, expected to be amazing early on,” said Andrew Ivins, 247Sports’ director of scouting, in June. “It used to be that teams would lean on their defense and run games with first-time starters. … But things changed.”
While Manning started two games last season while Quinn Ewers was injured, this is his first foray into what being an SEC starting quarterback consists of. Lagway is a little different, starting the final month and a half of last season once Graham Mertz tore his ACL Oct. 12. But each has appeared to have difficulty moving through their reads efficiently.
Lagway’s five-interception meltdown against No. 3 LSU often featured throws that came after the signal caller stared down the receiver he targeted or bounced around for more than eight seconds before launching. Manning, similarly, has been too hesitant and late to throw, resulting in a 61.3% completion rate, which is six points below where he was while playing last year.
“It wouldn’t shock me if [younger quarterbacks] process slower,” Ivins said. “It can be a lot to take in for the first time, which can result in slower decision-making.”
The reasoning for these difficulties becomes even more difficult to track when considering that cemented starters such as Penn State’s Drew Allar and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik have been deeply involved, as well. With high school training techniques evolving, there are numerous suggestions, including the possibility that individual quarterback coaching can cement specific bad habits.
But Saturday will serve as an opportunity for Manning or Lagway to adjust. With the top-rated quarterbacks in each of the 2024 and 2023 cycles both in Gainesville, it could be an easy opportunity for a trend to evaporate.