DJ Lagway admits outside noise helped motivate Florida Football in 2024

The front half of the 2024 season for Florida Football couldn't have gone poorly if they had tried. Between blowout losses to Miami and Texas A&M, combined with self-inflicted wounds that led to losing to Tennessee, the hot seat for Billy Napier was a raging inferno with minimal hope of containment.

DJ Lagway admitted this week that Florida players were very aware of the narrative that engulfed Napier and used that as motivation to help spur Florida to a four-game winning streak, changing the entire narrative surrounding the Gators heading into 2025.

Florida Football: Haters Gonna Hate

Appearing on Outta Pocket with Robert Griffin III, Lagway said that the narratives surrounding Napier served as fuel to help motivate the Gators by season's end:

"That was definitely motivation because I feel like they were disrespecting our coach and disrespecting us, genuinely. So we had to go out there and show them what we had. Obviously, it took some bumps in the roads, a lot of ups and downs this year. But I feel like, at the end, we kind of pulled it all together and figured it out. Hopefully, we can put that momentum to the 2025 season."

Now, if you are keeping score at home, being motivated by negative headlines runs in contrast to what Napier said following the loss to Miami when he claimed they shouldn't be worried about what fans living in basements think.

We here at Hail Florida Hail don't live in a basement, but we certainly had our fair share of critiques of Napier, including outright calling for him to be fired after getting blown out by Texas A&M.

Some might feel these critiques are harsh, but the argument we have made throughout is if you are going to coach or play at the University of Florida, the standard in the modern era in Gainesville is either be the best or someone else needs to come in and try.

Florida wasn't anywhere near being the best during the first two and a half years of the Billy Napier Era. There was a glimmer of hope during the four-game winning streak to close out the season.

If the Gators can capture that mojo and parlay it into 2025, Florida's headlines will be far more positive.

If the four-game winning streak was just a flash in the pan, expect many more "motivational pieces" for the Gators in 2025.