In the college football periphery, a few stories have resonated as powerfully as the dynamic surrounding the Gators’ QB DJ Lagway. He is not a finished product, but the player turned around Florida’s 2024 season. He may have even saved his head coach’s job by doing so. Lagway looks like a lot more than just another regular quarterback in the room with a few skill sets. He is one of a kind whose epic transformation needs to be capitalized. While his spring practice looks limited due to the lingering shoulder and lower body injuries, there is some good news for the starting QB of the Gators going forward.
The Gators had a scrimmage last week during their spring practice. While Lagway’s role was limited, however, when he got into the scrimmage, the whole offense lit up, as per ON3’s JD PicKell. “Which continued to speak to how important he is. He is going to be a guy that will obviously dictate how far Florida goes,” PicKell said.
PicKell went on to speak out about the scrimmage, especially the Gators’ WR room. Some good signs? Oh yeah! “Aidan Mizell, a name that you know if you’re a Florida fan. Waiting for him to really kind of break out. Took a short pass 50 yards to the crib. We’ll take that every time. My guy commits with a live alligator, and then he goes and catches a 50-yard pass a few years later in, you know, spring scrimmage. Dude’s a burner, okay. So, if they can get him up and rolling, I think that would be something that Florida fans would love to see.” Mizell, one of the most hyped recruits, needs to turn his immense gift into production. He caught just 17 passes for 207 yards last year. With an insane track speed and burst, he just needs to be consistent in his game.
The next standout on JD’s list was none other than the stupendous UCLA transfer J. Michael Sturdivant. He notched 123 catches in his career and showcased exceptional ability in the big plays. He was initially a Bulldog key target, but Billy Napier managed to snag him from them.
As per PicKell, “If Kirby wants a guy, probably a good player, Billy Napier won the guy. So, that tells you everything you need to know. Had a great scrimmage. He’s going to be, from what I’ve been told, their deep threat. The difference, though, with him is he’s also a big-bodied kind of guy. So, you have a deep threat who can also go win one-on-one for you in the red zone.”
That’s a lot on the table. But what impressed the Georgia head coach most about the WR was his intangibles. Kirby liked how mature he is on the field, and he’s hitting the ground running. With a 15-pound muscle addition, Michael only looks to be faster and stronger.
“In addition to that, a couple of other freshmen, Vernell Brown, Dallas Wilson… they’re continuing to impress, and then Hayden Hansen, likely going to be your starting tight end, had a touchdown in the scrimmage as well,” PicKell stockpiled three more solid weapons to Lagway’s relief.
Now, coming to the cornerback room, Cormani McClain is quickly solving the DB backfield crisis in Napier’s defense.
Cormani McClain looks like a real deal as a potential starter CB
A lot of DBs have been visiting Gainesville over the last couple of weeks. The motive was the same: to evaluate the DB depth chart of the Gators. Nobody seemed to be a lock; they were just testing the water. And guess what? McClain purposefully saved Napier’s goodwill in front of those targets. No matter how many of them end up signing with the Gators, most of them agreed that McClain was something to watch out for on the defense.
McClain has improved a lot in the offseason. He put on some weight over the last year and looked more jacked up to fire up the secondary going forward. When he first stepped into Florida, there had been a lot of flak about him. He was tagged as an underwhelming player, not contributing enough to the business, and so on. However, just a few months down, he turned the script with grace.
“Now, he’s making a case to start here when it comes time for the fall at the corner. A guy who has continued to just take the proper steps. He’s a guy who’s getting more reps now. During the spring, because of some injuries to the quarterback position,” PicKell vouched for the CB. The On3 journalist also referred to his growth as a major counterargument to the popular narrative against Billy Napier’s culture in Florida. Those are some real big-time spring competitive chapters at Gainesville, and we will look for more going forward.
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