Say his name and he appears. Florida Football believes in DJ Lagway.

All offseason, most would have agreed the ideal plan for Florida Football was to let Graham Mertz lead the offense, Florida win just enough to not be an embarrassment, and DJ Lagway take the reigns in 2025 and lead the Gators to a national title.

But as they say in the wrestling business, the card is always subject to change. And whether it's for just one week or for the rest of the season, Billy Napier's get-out-of-jail card is set to make his first start this Saturday against Samford.

Florida Football: Wave Your Hands From Side To Side

In case you have been living under a rock, here is your synopsis of Lagway:

He's good at football.

If you want further validation than from some dude living in his central Florida basement, he was the National Gatorade Player Of The Year in 2023.

Fair or unfair, Lagway has been viewed as the savior of the program ever since he committed to Florida in December of 2022. All through 2023, the underlying hope Gator fans kept as the losses piled up was "Just wait for DJ Lagway."

When Florida sent out two players with the same number against Utah, just wait for Lagway.

When Florida didn't know when to send out the field goal unit against Arkansas, just wait for Lagway.

When Florida tasked a back up linebacker to guard Missouri's best receiver on 4th and 17, just wait for Lagway.

And when Florida ran a double reverse flea flicker against FSU, just wait for Lagway.

Mertz was knocked out of the game against Miami with a concussion and won't be ready in time for Samford. And so the man Florida fans have been waiting on for 21 months is set to appear as the starter in a game that counts.

In many ways, Lagway is about to present Napier with the ultimate conundrum. If he plays well on Saturday, the Gator fanbase will say, "Your last shot to avoid being fired is to keep playing Lagway." If he plays poorly on Saturday, the Gator fanbase will say, "We kept defending you for this guy?"

There is a reason why true freshmen QBs seldom play, even when they are five-stars like Lagway. But Napier himself said scared money doesn't make money.

Depending on how Saturday goes, Napier may need to reject scared money, and if he wants to keep making money in Gainesville, he may need to keep saying Lagway's name when talking about the starting QB.