Florida Football better positioned than anyone at backup QB according to 247 Sports
![Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) and Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (15) participate in a drill during fall football practice at Heavener Football Complex at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, August 1, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4800,h_2700,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2F213%2F01j58dz2g4t80g84dh18.jpg "Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) and Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (15) participate in a drill during fall football practice at Heavener Football Complex at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, August 1, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]")
As the 2024 season approaches for Florida Football, it is well-accepted that Graham Mertz is the established starter for the Gators. Coming off a solid 2023 campaign, Florida feels good about their QB situation.
But as was also established last year, staying healthy for the entire season isn’t guaranteed, and Florida had to go into their season finale without a QB they felt confident about. If CBS Sports is to be believed, Florida is better positioned than anyone in the country if something happens to Mertz in 2024.
Florida Football: Go DJ
CBS Sports/247 Sports released their list of top backup QBs in the country, and five-star freshman DJ Lagway was placed at the top.
.@clintbrew247 ranked the Top 25 backup QBs heading into the 2024 season.@GatorsFB's DJ Lagway and @TexasFootball's Arch Manning take the top 2 spots. 👀
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) August 13, 2024
FULL Top 25: https://t.co/KfxIrwEIWu pic.twitter.com/t1nOsDoJ7r
Most notable about this list is Lagway ranking ahead of Texas QB Arch Manning, who is expected to sit behind Quinn Ewers for a second straight season.
When Mertz went down with a broken collarbone in 2023, the Gators were forced to turn to Max Brown at QB. Brown almost led Florida to victory over Missouri but was overwhelmed in the second half against FSU and finished 9 for 16 for 86 yards passing and six sacks.
But just because Lagway has sky-high potential doesn't mean Florida will be itching to throw him into the fire or that anyone needs to run around creating a quarterback controversy just yet. As we have pointed out before, of the 14 quarterbacks ranked in the top two of their respective classes since 2017, only three attempted at least 200 passes in their true freshman year (Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Trevor Lawrence).
Manning, Nico Iamaleava, Drew Allar, Cade Klubnik, Bryce Young, and DJ Uiagalelei are all recent examples of top-rated quarterbacks who didn't play their freshman year.
Florida opens their season on August 31 against Miami at home.