What the Gators gain—and risk—playing DJ Lagway vs. LIU

In just over a week, the Florida Gators are going to take the field for real in 2025. No longer will we have to debate what is happening behind closed doors, and we will all get a chance to see Florida in action against LIU next Saturday.

Florida could win this game by 67 if it wanted to, but at the core of the debate is just how much should DJ Lagway play after an offseason filled with injury drama.

DJ Lagway needs reps against LIU

On paper, LIU is awful. Like, even for an FCS team, they are awful.

Since moving up to D1 six years ago, the Sharks have won a grand total of 16 games, have never won more than four games in a season, and have topped 30 points just nine times.

The Gators could probably play Clay Millen in this game and still win by 40.

But next Saturday isn't about just starting 1-0, it's about setting Florida up for success to be prepared for LSU and Miami, and this is where Lagway's usage is going to be the main topic of discussion.

The risks are obvious:

• He could reaggravate his calf before it is ready
• He could have a reckless LIU defender roll up his knee
• He could hit his hand on the helmet of an offensive lineman
• He could tweak his hamstring because he is compensating for his calf

If you lose Lagway against LSU or Miami, that's just life, but the goal of any program and any coach is to minimize that risk, especially when the risk isn't needed.

But ironically enough, Lagway's offseason injuries are also why he needs to at least get some meaningful reps in against a real-life opponent.

When Lagway took the field earlier this week for 11 v 11 work, it was the first time since the Gasparilla Bowl that he had taken reps with a full squad. Throwing practice routes in a one v one with his receivers and doing seven v seven work is nice, but it's not the same thing as 11 v 11.

And when the one knock on Lagway during his freshman campaign was the amount of interceptions he threw and the blind spot he seemed to have to certain coverages, it's not unfair to believe that Lagway needs all the live reps he can.

Following the NFL preseason model of one or two series and then sitting is the safe option and guarantees he is ready to go for USF, but it just feels like Lagway is going to benefit more if he can stay in longer than that.

We're not going to put a magic number on how many snaps Lagway should take against LIU, but in an ideal world, the Gators are up by 35 at halftime and Lagway can get out of there.