![Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) is tackled by Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Nnamdi Ogboko (95) in the second half in an NCAA football game, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. Georgia defeated Florida 24-20. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_141,w_1789,h_1006/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01k9srvbzcwkeggq9jet.jpg "Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) is tackled by Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Nnamdi Ogboko (95) in the second half in an NCAA football game, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. Georgia defeated Florida 24-20. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]")
About the only way for the 2025 season to end with any kind of success for the Florida Gators is to win out or to wind up with Lane Kiffin. Anything short of that and 2025 might go down as one of the biggest disasters in Gator lore.
And while Billy Napier shares the bulk of the blame for this season, and while we here at Hail Florida Hail try to keep our criticisms aimed at the coaches and not the players, the reality is that Florida players are making real money from NIL and can't shy away from blaming themselves.
With that in mind, here are five players who just haven't performed in 2025.
DJ Lagway
Whether it's his shoulder, whether it's Billy Napier's coaching, or whether it's something else, DJ Lagway hasn't just been a disappointment in 2025; he has been a downright disaster.
Because it's not just that Lagway hasn't taken a step forward, it's that he has seemingly taken five giant steps back. And at times this year, we tried to defend Lagway as a byproduct of Napier's JV level offense, but Lagway hasn't done his part either.
He looks like a guy at times who just straight up can't read the field, which should have been something that improved, no matter what the status of his shoulder and calf were.
Lagway got benched against Kentucky, and the once shining star is anything but right now.
J. Michael Sturdivant
When Florida dragged its feet in the transfer portal and the only notable name it landed was J. Michael Sturdivant out of UCLA, we here at Hail Florida Hail sounded the alarm right away.
The metrics on Sturdivant were among the worst in the country when it came to yards per route run and reception rate.
Fast forward to November of 2025, and Sturdivant has a reception rate of 51.3%. That is the 25th lowest in the country of the 278 wide receivers with at least 35 targets.
Likewise, his yards per route run is the 20th lowest in the country of that same group.
So maybe, just maybe, his metrics from UCLA weren't a fluke.
Hayden Hansen
One of the massive critiques of Napier's offense has been the reliance on two tight ends, which can work if you have two good tight ends.
But Florida doesn't have that.
The problem with Hayden Hansen is that he offers very little in the passing game, and he can't really block on screens and get to his spot in time.
Other than that, he is doing great.
Tyreak Sapp
On paper, prior to the Kentucky game, the defense for Florida wasn't the problem. But it's also true that the defense for Florida hasn't been perfect.
Among the notable issues is that Florida just doesn't get to opposing QBs with any consistency.
And while Tyreak Sapp isn't playing "terrible" per se, he has just one sack on the season after he had seven last year.
Jordan Castell
Jodan Castell is what he is at this point. The only way he is going to positively impact play is if the ball is thrown right at him. Otherwise, he is going to backpeddle ten yards and hope to keep the opposing wide receiver in front of him.
Florida is actually top 50 in interceptions, but Castell is usually a traffic cone more times than not in the secondary.