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Save us DJ Lagway, you're Florida Football's only hope

Florida's five-star QB has been cleared to play against LSU

By Benjamin Henderson

Oct 19, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) gestures while running with the ball against the Kentucky Wildcats during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Oct 19, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) gestures while running with the ball against the Kentucky Wildcats during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
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Very little has gone right for Florida Football in 2024. The Gators are 4-5 on the season, have a recruiting class in the dumps, and fans are forced to smile and nod as Billy Napier is slated to return for 2025.

One week after getting smashed by Texas, there is a feeling of hope heading into Saturday's matchup against LSU, and it is all due to one player.

Florida Football: A New Hope

Napier announced on his weekly radio show on Thursday that DJ Lagway would be starting on Saturday and that he had been removed from Florida's injury report. This comes two weeks after he was carted off the field against Georgia following a hamstring injury that also kept him out of last week's game against Texas.

His presence alone turns Saturday from a meaningless three-and-a-half-hour exercise of watching Aidan Warner throw ducks while Clay Millen is harder to find than Carmen Sandiego into a crucial data point heading into the 2025 season.

Pick an arbitrary percentage, but a large chunk of the reason Napier is coming back for 2025 is because of Lagway. Napier brought him here, so the argument is that he should be able to see him through.

For the record, we here at Hail Florida Hail don't agree with that ideology. As we have stated, Lagway can win without Napier, but Napier can't win without Lagway.

Still, if Lagway can drag Florida to a win on Saturday, beat either Ole Miss or FSU (or both), and ball out in a bowl game, there are a couple of key narratives that could take hold heading into 2025:

  1. The "talking season" headlines will have a hint of hope behind them rather than the gloom and doom that will be well deserved if Florida misses a bowl for the second straight season.
  2. Maybe, just maybe, Napier can flip some of the big-name recruits in town this weekend with the hopes and dreams of Lagway.

The Gators are in a bad place, and the problems go up the chain all the way to university administration.

But on Saturday, Lagway has the opportunity to overcome all of that and give Gator fans a signature moment from the 2024 season.

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