Florida’s Billy Napier Announces Future Plans At Quarterback

Following a dominant performance in their 45-7 Week 2 victory against the Samford Bulldogs at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier announced plans at quarterback on Monday with freshman DJ Lagway and senior Graham Mertz set to split playing time.

Lagway had a remarkable first-career start at quarterback with the Gators on Saturday by throwing for 456 yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-25 pass attempts. Even though the performance was against a mismatched opponent in Samford, the former five-star recruit certainly displayed the skill set that has given Florida faithful hope for the program's future.

Lagway replaced Graham Mertz in Week 2 after Mertz suffered a concussion during the third quarter of the program's season-opening loss to the Miami Hurricanes.

As for the plan at quarterback moving forward throughout the season, Napier confirmed the program will utilize both quarterbacks interchangeably barring any significant injury.

“I think our intention the entire time has been to play DJ in every game,” Napier said. “Obviously, he gets a little bit more experienced each week. And certainly, for him to have the opportunity to be the starter, prepare with the ones and then go play, and the way he did that — the poise, the composure — I just think it shows that he’s ready to do what we intend to do with him going forward.

“It’s a blessing to have two really good quarterbacks and certainly one with a ton of experience and one without. But there’s no doubt both these guys will make us harder to defend. We intend to use both of them.”

With Mertz's injury status for Week 3 still in question, Lagway could be in position for another start on Sept. 14 against Texas A&M.

Florida's Week 3 matchup with the Texas A&M Aggies on Sept. 14 will take place from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at 3:30 p.m. ET and air on ABC.