At long last, the 2025 season is just two days away for the Florida Gators.
UF hosts Long Island University on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, marking the start of head coach Billy Napier's fourth season in Gainesville and the second season for highly touted quarterback DJ Lagway.
While there has been considerable speculation surrounding Lagway's health throughout 2025, Napier reiterated Wednesday the Willis, Texas native is fully cleared after battling through a shoulder injury and a right hip sports hernia in spring camp followed by a calf strain ahead of fall camp, the latter of which limited the 6-foot-3 passer until the final week of fall camp.
After considerable time away from the field throughout 2025, the anticipation for Lagway's sophomore season is palpable, and the second-year quarterback is eager to take the field, according to Napier.
"It's impressive to watch. It's fun to watch, to be quite honest. He's had really good days," Napier said. "I do think that it's competitive out there. I think the coverage is tight. I think the rush is real. The pocket is not always as clean as it can be. But, you know, I think it's healthy competition, and I think every Tuesday and Wednesday it's going to be that way. So he's had a good week, and I know he's excited to play."
When he takes the field Saturday, presumably for Florida's first offensive series, Lagway will make his first start in a season-opener for the Gators after starting the freshman season behind sixth-year quarterback Graham Mertz, now with the Houston Texans.
Though, Napier didn't divulge how much he anticipates playing Lagway Saturday, which is no surprise considering Napier's willingness to discuss factors impacting the team's competitive chances. The widespread belief is Florida will turn to its backup signal-callers at some point after Lagway's participation, with Harrison Bailey, Aidan Warner and potentially Tramell Jones Jr. poised to receive in-game snaps against the Sharks. The aforementioned quarterbacks behind Lagway have all taken repetitions in practice with UF's second-team offense as the Gators have continued to evaluate the pecking order, setting the stage for UF to potentially use in-game opportunities to further assess the team's depth at the position.
"I think they're much better when we narrow the plan. When there's less playbook in, I think the variables go down. So I think in general, the backup quarterback group has had a good week. I've been pleased with what I've seen. So I've got a lot of confidence in all three guys, but you know, obviously we can only pick one to be the backup," Napier said of Florida's backup quarterbacks. "I've got a ton of confidence in that situation and I think Coach O'Hara has done a really good job with the group."
While Napier and Co. have used much of the game-week preparation to continue assessing the position, a decision will be made – and vocalized – ahead of Saturday's contest.
"I think right now, we let them know at the end of the week. It's not different than any other position," Napier continued. "So, in my opinion, this week we'll declare who the backup is, and then we'll go back to work on Sunday next week."
Yet anyone expecting Florida to publicly divulge the information prior to Saturday's contest will be disappointed, as the Gators won't release a depth chart for the masses to evaluate. It will be the practice moving forward for a team that, again, has taken the approach that limiting any information impacting the team's competitive chances is the desirable move for a program intent on competing for a coveted spot in the College Football Playoff for the first time.
"I think, in general, we're in a time where why would we give that information to the other team? It has nothing to do with you guys (the media). It's really more about we have to disclose the injury report, but not necessarily the depth. Look, I think it's a sign that our team is doing what we ask of them. Maybe that less information is getting to the surface," Napier said. "So hopefully as we grow as an organization, we can continue to be pretty buttoned up over here."