One throw separated Aaron Philo’s Florida debut from DJ Lagway’s Baylor heartbreak

As Florida’s QB competition made its way through the offseason, we here at Hail Florida Hail were in the camp that Tramell Jones had a higher ceiling than Aaron Philo. We also made the point that there is a world where Philo made sense as the starting QB given his knowledge of Buster Faulkner’s offense.

Whoever won the job was going to need to replace DJ Lagway, who Jon Sumrall essentially sent packing to the transfer portal back in December.

And while it was a subtle detail, there was one throw both Philo and Lagway made on Saturday in their respective games where Philo got the little details right while Lagway did not.

Aaron Philo makes a throw that DJ Lagway does not

Prior to Florida’s game, most Gator fans were probably keeping an eye on the Auburn vs. Baylor game. Florida plays Auburn in week three, while Lagway is now the starting QB for Baylor. And while Lagway had a rough afternoon at times, he led Baylor down for a TD to make it 17-16 with just eight seconds to play. Baylor opted to go for two and try to win the game outright in regulation.

The Bears had a good play dialed up as their tight end leaked into the flat. Lagway completed the pass, but it was a little bit behind, which slowed the momentum and allowed Auburn to make a gave saving tackle on the goal line to win the game.

Had Lagway placed it in front, Baylor would have won.

We highlight that moment because Philo’s TD to Bailey Stockton was a very similar play. While it was a bit further away from the goal line, Stockton lined up at the tight end slot, came across and leaked into the flat, and Philo hit him with the pass.

The difference is that Philo put his pass in front of Stockton, and it allowed Stockton to keep his momentum to run in for the TD.

And it may seem like nitpicking, and eventually we will move on from Lagway, but when he and his camp spent the whole offseason painting this narrative that Florida fans were to blame for his struggles and that he can now play free and loose at Baylor, only to struggle with the exact same type of throw he struggled with in Gainesville, it’s worth pointing out.

Especially when the unheralded replacement immediately does the thing that he could not.

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