Now that the 2024 college football season is officially over, we can formally turn the page and start to think about the 2025 season for Florida. The Gators ended 2024 on a four-game winning streak and are getting early love in "Way too early" polls.
DJ Lagway is also getting love and is popping up on plenty of 2025 Heisman watchlists. Whether or not he remains on these lists once the season begins will also tell that tale of whether or not Florida takes a step forward in 2025.
Florida Football: You're Our Only Hope
Early betting odds have Lagway hovering between +15000 and +2500 to win the Heisman in 2025. NCAA.Com put out a list last month that highlighted 20 players they think have a shot at the Heisman and Lagway was on that list, noting:
"Lagway will have to navigate a treacherous schedule next year, but if he comes out on top, it could be Heisman-worthy."
The reality for Florida is that all their eggs are in the basket of Lagway being a Heisman contender if the goal is to make the playoffs in 2025. As we mused yesterday, Billy Napier's offense requires a top-tier quarterback to function in the manner that Napier dreams of.
Something else we have said before, and we are going to say again heading into this offseason, is that Napier needs Lagway in order to be successful. Lagway doesn't need Napier to be successful.
In the six games that Lagway started and finished in 2024, Florida averaged 34.6 points per game. That would be in the top 20 in the country if maintained for the entire season.
In the 32 games in the Billy Napier Era where someone besides Lagway has started and finished the game at QB, Florida has averaged just 27.6 points per game with a median of just 26.5 points per game. For context, 27.6 points per game would be 73rd in the country in 2024.
Florida's roster as it stands right now is nice at a number of positions, but it is not elite in a ton of areas beyond the quarterback. And as Ohio State demonstrated in their playoff run, there is a difference between "good" talent and "elite" talent.
So if Florida has any hope of a ten-win season and a playoff run in 2025, Lagway is going to have to play at a Heisman-worthy level throughout and elevate the rest of the team with him.