The Florida Gators will now have to combat yet another injury to star quarterback DJ Lagway.
Earlier today, reports surfaced that Lagway recently suffered a lower-leg injury and has been wearing a protective boot. Swamp247's Zach Goodall added context to the injury, stating that the ailment was "minor" and "not of long-term concern." We touched on what this means for Billy Napier and the Gators here.
Despite this injury's likelihood to resolve itself in a timely and insignificant manner, it adds to a disturbing trend regarding the health of DJ Lagway, who many speculate was a driving factor in the decision to give Billy Napier a fourth season as head coach.
Just got out of the woods
The story of the offseason has been the health of DJ Lagway, who has reportedly battled a lingering hernia injury for the past several months. Despite not throwing in spring camp, Lagway appeared to be on the right track, with video of him throwing surfacing in late April.
Since then, almost all has been normal. Lagway has been a frequent name in preseason award projections, and the news of his injury became less and less significant in the media.
But in the back of Florida fans' minds was fear of another injury, which has been all too frequent in Lagway's limited time as a Gator.
Previous setback
After being thrown into the fire against Tennessee, Lagway stepped up and brought the 2024 Gators to new heights. All seemed well, or at least well enough, until the Gators met arch foe Georgia in Jacksonville last season. After an energetic start that saw the Gators leading over second-ranked Georgia, Lagway went down with a hamstring injury, requiring him to be carted off of the field.
The injury turned out to be less severe than expected, but it did provide a less than convenient development for the struggling Gators.
His injury kept him sidelined during a blowout loss to Texas before making his anticipated return against LSU.
What this means
Well what does any of this mean you might ask?
The truth is that we don't really know. Rarely does anything good ever come out of an injury to your star quarterback, but all signs point to Lagway's return to the field soon, even if that may not be for day one of fall camp on Wednesday.
But with this injury, Florida fans have refueled a constant lingering fear in the back of their minds.
The health -not performance- of DJ Lagway may ultimately define his time as a Gator.