Florida facing a QB conundrum against Texas A&M

Field Level Media|published: Tue 10th September, 13:02 2024

Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) throws a pass during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, September 7, 2024 against the Samford Bulldogs. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]

Texas A&M and Florida will meet for just the seventh time in the schools' history Saturday afternoon when they open Southeastern Conference play in Gainesville, Fla.

A few similarities exist between the teams, who last played when Florida went to College Station in 2022 and claimed a 41-24 victory by outscoring the Aggies 21-0 in the second half.

Both squads sit at 1-1 after dropping their openers against ranked teams. However, both rebounded Saturday with resounding wins over weaker FCS competition. The Aggies routed McNeese 52-10, and the Gators did the same vs. Samford, 45-7.

They went about their blowout wins in different ways, though. While Texas A&M grinded out 333 rushing yards on just 38 carries, Florida true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway threw for 456 yards and three touchdowns.

With starter Graham Mertz (concussion) knocked out of the Gators' 41-17 loss to Miami in Week 1, Lagway excelled in his first college start, leading to an obvious question for coach Billy Napier: Who gets the nod against the Aggies?

"That's where the gamesmanship is," said Napier on Monday, unwilling to tip his hand. "I don't want to put the playbook on the streets here. Ultimately, (DJ's) one of our better players. We're going to give him an opportunity to impact the game and contribute to the team. That's our intention."

Lagway, a product of Willis, Texas, shattered Chris Leak's 2003 record for single-game passing yards by a freshman. Lagway completed 18 of 25 passes and averaged 18.2 yards per attempt.

"Both these players can make our team better," Napier said.

Texas A&M first-year coach Mike Elko was the defensive coordinator under Jimbo Fisher from 2018-21 before taking the Duke head coaching job in 2022 and coaching there for two seasons.

"You kind of come up with a plan on how you think you want to handle both kids," Elko said of the Mertz/Lagway conundrum. "You have to prepare like both of them are going to play the whole game. ... But I also think you can't come up with two different game plans because I think the kids will get paralyzed by volume."

In a series that started in 1962 and includes the 1977 Sun Bowl, the teams have split their six meetings.

--Field Level Media