Florida quarterback DJ Lagway plans to enter transfer portal, per sources
Florida quarterback DJ Lagway will enter the transfer portal after a disappointing second season in Gainesville, sources confirmed to the Miami Herald on Monday.
The former five-star prospect, top-10 recruit in the class of 2024, started 19 games at Florida after taking over the lead role midway through his freshman season a year ago. His decision comes after speculation throughout Florida’s disappointing 4-8 campaign that he would be gone with the season’s conclusion. However, he emphasized after Florida’s final game that his decision would be dependent on who Florida hired to replace coach Billy Napier, who recruited Lagway and was fired halfway through this season.
Two weeks after Florida introduced Tulane’s Jon Sumrall as its next coach, Lagway confirmed his decision to transfer in an Instagram post. He thanked fans, friends and his coaches before adding, “After much prayer, reflection and thoughtful consideration, I have decided to enter the transfer portal.”
Lagway projects to be one of the top targets on the market once he officially enters the portal. Despite his struggles this season, he’s shown many of the raw attributes that originally put him among the top prospects in the 2027 NFL draft. He’ll have two years of eligibility remaining, which places him on a well-charted path.
In 2022, former top quarterback recruits Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels both transferred before their junior seasons, eyeing a chance to rebuild their draft stock. Each blossomed into top-15 picks, finishing their collegiate careers at the 2023 Heisman trophy ceremony.
Florida entered 2025 with its highest preseason ranking since 2021, largely due to Lagway’s ascension in the final weeks of his freshman campaign. He led the Gators to victories over No. 22 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss, finishing the year with the third-highest deep ball rate in the country. The promise, however, didn’t pan out this season. The Gators finished with the second-worst record in the SEC, as Lagway started all 12 games.
He concluded the year with 2,264 passing yards and 16 touchdowns, but threw for an SEC-leading 14 interceptions. He never appeared comfortable as Florida faltered, ultimately leading to the firing of coach Napier in October. The Gators didn’t show much improvement with the change in leadership, going 1-4 in interim coach Billy Gonzales’ five games. Lagway’s worst performances came against LSU and Kentucky this year, in which he threw a combined eight interceptions, and was benched for the first time in the latter.
When Lagway’s been at his best, it’s been brief. He missed a game during his freshman year with a hamstring injury, before returning for Florida’s closing stretch. But in early 2025, he suffered a shoulder injury that held him out of spring practice, and he remained absent as Florida geared up for its campaign in fall camp after straining his calf. While he didn’t miss a game this year, the dual-threat recruit wasn’t mobile most of the season.
Incoming Florida coach Jon Sumrall had remained adamant about the value of keeping Florida’s talent, like Lagway, in place. Despite the Gators’ struggles on the field, Napier reeled in top-20 recruiting classes in each of his four years.
“Roster building. It starts with our current team,” Sumrall said in his opening press conference. “Retention in these days of the college football world is the most important thing to build a team. We need those guys to stay, and that’s the first recruiting effort I have.”
But only two weeks after his arrival, the biggest cornerstone of his rebuild is already departing.