DJ Lagway Beats Seasoned QBs on His Way to No. 2 Rank in SEC originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
DJ Lagway had one of the most unique freshman years in college football.
It was a rollercoaster ride where he entered as a highly regarded backup to Florida Gators QB Graham Mertz. But once he stepped onto the field, he made sure everyone remembered his name.
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But that was last year. Even though he was a highly regarded five-star athlete coming out of high school, he was still looked at as a backup.
This year be different. There’s a lot of hype around him.
His on-field production impressed enough people that he’s finding himself ranking higher than seasoned QBs in SEC.
ESPN Radio Host Braden Gall was filling in for Paul Finebaum on Wednesday’s the Paul Finebaum show.
Listing down the top SEC quarterbacks, he named DJ Lagway as the second-best QB after Arch Manning.
Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2).Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union
Lagway edged out LaNorris Sellers, Garrett Nussmeier, and Diego Pavia despite having less experience than all of them.
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Only Arch Manning, who has even lesser experience, was ranked above the Gators quarterback.
This can be attributed to Lagway taking over the latter half of last season. He led the Gators to wins over SEC giants LSU, Ole Miss, and FSU.
LaNorris Sellers had better stats than Lagway. His QBR was 12 points higher. The South Carolina Gamecocks QB even took home the SEC freshman of the year award.
Diego Pavia and Garrett Nussmeier are both seniors, unlike Lagway.
Nussmeier has had NFL buzz around him for a while now, and analysts regard him as ready for the next level.
Pavia is a dual-threat quarterback who had 20 touchdowns with just 4 interceptions, along with 800 rushing yards.
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All three of these players have made a strong case to be the best in the conference.
But still, it has not been enough to convince some analysts that they are better than Lagway.
The Florida Gators star will have a target on his back this year, unlike last year, and the spotlight will be brighter than ever.
Related: Florida Makes Exciting Announcement Before 2025 College Football Season
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
