Derek "DJ" Lagway (born August 13, 2005) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

Early life

Lagway attended

Willis High School Willis High School is a public high school in Montgomery County, Texas, United States. It is a part of the Willis Independent School District. In 2022, the school received a C grade from the Texas Education Agency. History The school was opened ...

Willis Willis may refer to: Places United States * Willis, Florida, an unincorporated community * Willis, Kansas, a city * Willis, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Willis, Nebraska, an unincorporated community * Willis, Oklahoma, an unincorporat ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. As a junior in 2022, he passed for 2,081 yards with 24

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

and five

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

. Prior to his senior season in 2023, Lagway participated in the

Elite 11 Elite 11 is a quarterback competition for high school quarterbacks. Elite 11 was founded in 1999 by Andy Bark and is run by his company Student Sports. Rising seniors participate in the contest. The quarterbacks submit videos of themselves pla ...

. As a senior, he passed for 4,631 yards with a Texas Class 6A record 58 touchdown passes, and added 975 rushing yards with 15 touchdowns. He was named the

MaxPreps MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is currently owned by PlayOn. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including boys, girls, and co-ed sports. ...

National Player of the Year and Mr. Texas Football. For his career, Lagway had 8,392 passing yards and 100 passing touchdowns with 2,196 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns. A five-star recruit, Lagway committed to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

to play

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

College career

2024: Freshman Season

Lagway entered his true freshman season with the

in 2024 as the backup to

Graham Mertz Graham Mertz (born December 6, 2000) is an American professional football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers and the Florida Gators. Mertz was selected by ...

. After Mertz was placed in concussion protocol following the season opener against

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Lagway was named the starting quarterback against Samford. In his first ever start, Lagway threw for 456 yards and 3 touchdowns. Over the following few games, Lagway split playing time with Mertz. Mertz suffered a season-ending injury against

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and Lagway was inserted as the team's starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. Lagway's first game after Mertz's injury was a 48-20 victory over rival

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. In his start against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, Lagway suffered a left hamstring injury and was carted off. After missing only one game of action, he returned for the final three games of the regular season, defeating #22 LSU, #9 Ole Miss, and

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. He also started when the Gators defeated Tulane 33-8 in the 2024 Gasparilla Bowl. In his seven starts, he helped lead Florida to a 6–1 record and a bowl win.

Statistics

Personal life

He is the son of Derek and Nikita Nephew Lagway. His father, Derek Lagway, played college football at

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lagway, DJ 2005 births Living people American football quarterbacks Florida Gators football players Players of American football from Texas