Paul Finebaum seemed to have a crystal ball back in February. The ESPN analyst made it clear he wasn’t betting big on Billy Napier and the Florida Gators this season. “I know in the past, it used to be a national championship or bust for the Gators,” he shared. “Now it seems like the expectations have dumbed down, where losing four or five games are OK.” Meanwhile, Napier was counting on his quarterback, DJ Lagway, to save the Gators and his job after last season. But the HC couldn’t have known the universe would soon put his key player in a tough spot.
DJ Lagway has been dealing with shoulder and lower-body injuries, which kept him from throwing throughout spring practice. According to Matt Hayes, who cited two anonymous sources, shoulder surgery was likely needed. However, Lagway’s family opted for “rest and rehab” instead of surgery, as that would have jeopardized his availability for the 2025 season.
While Coach Napier initially revealed Lagway would be limited, he was cleared to throw in May, allowing Napier a moment of relief. Despite this, it seems it’s too early to fully count on the quarterback’s full recovery.
On the June 27th episode of the Another Dooley Noted Podcast, host Pat Dooley added more concerns for Napier. “There are two questions that almost everybody, pretty much everybody, asks. Number one, DJ Lagway’s shoulder—how is it, and I always tell them, ‘Look, it’s not just his shoulder, it’s a lower body issue too. That’s why he couldn’t throw because he couldn’t push off…he’s going to be fine. Doesn’t mean he won’t get hit and get hurt again, and that happens. It happens in every sport where you have a shoulder injury, and then it heals, and then you get hit on it again; it’s easier, like when you dislocate your shoulder. I’ve never done that, but I’ve been told that when you dislocate your shoulder and they pop it back in, it’s easy to pop it back out again.”
DJ Lagway was a huge surprise for Florida as a true freshman. When starter Graham Mertz got hurt, Lagway was thrown into action earlier than planned. He really shined, setting a Gators freshman record with 456 passing yards in his first start against Samford. Later, after leaving the Florida-Georgia game with a hamstring injury, he came back to lead the team on an impressive four-game winning streak to finish the year, including big wins over ranked opponents. Lagway’s amazing play, which earned him Freshman All-America honors, basically saved Coach Napier’s job and gave the Gators their first winning season since 2020. This momentum even helped them land their first top-10 recruiting class in 5 years.
Back in May, someone close to Lagway mentioned he’d have his full arsenal this season, something he supposedly lacked last year. Napier must have been dreaming of using his dual-threat quarterback like Daunte Culpepper, with a powerful arm and great rushing skills. Unfortunately, he can’t be too sure his luck will hold up right now.
As Dooley shared, “My point is everybody wants to know about him because everybody also understands Florida is tied in to DJ Lagway. That’s the only way they’re going to have a chance to make the playoffs. That would be what I would say. Florida can make the playoffs if DJ Lagway stays healthy. They can’t if he doesn’t. Pretty simple.” With this, Naper gets the clarity of how much he can count on Lagway. Yet another question looms.
Why 2025 could make or break Billy Napier’s legacy
Moving into 2025, Napier will have no time to catch his breath. As per the College Football News, the Florida Gators have the toughest strength of schedule ahead of the 2025 season. Want to learn about how tough it’s going to be? Napier’s program checks in at the top spot with a 343.5 strength of schedule rating. Their 2025 schedule is SEC heavyweights and marquee matchups. On the road, Napier and Co. will have to face off against LSU and Miami. The month of October must be sapping all the energy out of Napier’s squad. They have got face-offs scheduled against Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Tennessee.
On that note, Dooley shared, “The other question is, well if they go 5-7 and they let Billy Napier go, who’s the next coach going to be, and I’m like I have no idea. I haven’t even been thinking that way…I had a somebody who’s a friend of mine who’s a coach, and we were talking about this, and we were talking about how Florida has got to figure out how to be a better road team….Florida’s road schedule is really really tough….all those home games are road games now. You’ve got to go to Ole Miss, you got to go to A&M, got to go to Miami.”
While Dooley did not predict the number of wins for Billy Napier’s Florida this season, former Gators head coach Urban Meyer predicted Florida at eight wins, which is above BetMGM’s win total line of 6.5 set for UF entering the 2025 season. He picked wins over LIU and USF to start the season, followed by a loss at LSU. Amidst these looming concerns, if Napier wants to sip on some motivational juice, here is some.
The former Gators quarterback Rex Grossman called the 2025 season “pivotal” for Napier. When the college football world warns Billy Napier about his path ahead, here comes some breath of fresh air. “I don’t think he’s on the hot seat, but I definitely think it’s pivotal for his career at Florida to have one of those seasons you can bank on. Yes, I’ve got a great team, we’ve recruited well, and now we’ve performed well from the start to the finish. We want the fanbase excited, boosters excited, AD excited. Everyone continues this momentum that we’ve had.” Napier’s program is coming off their first top-10 class under Napier in the 2025 cycle after an 8-5 finish last season. Etched in regret or glory—what kind of memory will 2025 leave for the Gators?
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