When DJ Lagway went down with his hamstring injury last season, Florida Football was forced to turn to Aidan Warner to close out the game and was forced to start him against Texas. It didn't go great for Warner, who went 21 for 50 passing with three interceptions and no touchdowns in 2024.
Florida tried to address the backup quarterback situation this offseason and thought it had DeShawn Purdie lined up, but only for him to bail. The Gators were able to pivot to Harrison Bailey, a former top-100 prospect for Tennessee who was the backup for Louisville in 2024 and played well in their bowl game.
With Florida's first scrimmage in the books prior to their Orange and Blue game next Saturday, whatever head start Bailey had on Warner appears to be a gap that is closed.
Florida Football: Read Between The Lines
With Lagway still sidelined from throwing due to his shoulder, Warner and Bailey have been taking the bulk of the reps. Billy Napier was asked about the QB play at his press conference following the scrimmage:
"I thought, for the most part, when the pocket was clean, that they were effective. I thought Aidan (Warner), in particular, did a lot of good things. I do think that we've got some legit rushers on defense, and I think that it was very competitive relative to protecting the quarterback, affecting the quarterback. Thought we tipped some balls. There would have been quite a few quarterback hits today just standing back there behind them. But I do think that both guys did a lot of positive things. Aidan, in particular, early, I thought was really sharp."
If you read between the lines of what Napier is saying, Warner is getting the public praise while Bailey isn't even mentioned.
It aligns with what insiders have been hinting at, which is that Bailey has been lagging behind Warner this spring.
So, should there be alarm bells about the backup QB situation?
Well...
If Lagway stays upright all year, then the backup QB becomes semantics.
There is also no guarantee Lagway will make it through the 2025 campaign unscathed, and Florida has had to turn to their backup QB in both 2023 and 2024.
While there are some viral clips out there showing Warner's potential for some top-level throws here and there, the reality is that of the 218 quarterbacks who had at least 50 passing attempts in 2024, Warner had the fourth fewest yards per attempt in the country.
As we say all the time, until you have done it, you haven't done it.
We'll see how the QB play looks at the Orange and Blue game before making any final declarations, but for now it does appear that Warner has the inside edge to backup Lagway.