Florida QB DJ Lagway has ‘a pathway for recovery and a return’ this season from hamstring injury

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway has “a pathway for recovery” and could return this season despite being carted off the field against Georgia with a left hamstring injury.

Coach Billy Napier said Monday that Lagway’s strain was “less significant” than initially feared and he wouldn’t rule out the highly touted freshman for Saturday’s game at No. 5 Texas.

“A lot of good on that front,” Napier said. “A lot of that will be determined as we move our way throughout the week. ... We’re going to exhaust every resource we have.”

Lagway left Saturday’s 34-20 loss to the second-ranked Bulldogs in the second quarter and returned to the sideline in the second half with his legged wrapped and using crutches. He was the second Florida quarterback to go down this season, joining starter Graham Mertz.

Replays showed Lagway grabbing his left hamstring during a 3-yard run. He was carted off the field to a loud ovation and with the Gators leading 10-3 in a rivalry game known as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”

Mertz is out for the season with a torn ligament in his left knee, so the Gators had to turn to walk-on Aidan Warner against one of the best defenses in the Southeastern Conference. Warner would start against the Longhorns if Lagway can’t play.

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Warner completed 7 of 22 passes for 66 yards, with an interception that set up a late touchdown. He also was sacked twice.

“The kid did as good of job as he could do,” Napier said. “There will be some plays that he would like to have back, but it’s a pretty big stage to trot out there in the middle of that one.”

Tight end Hayden Hansen echoed Napier’s statement on Warner but sounded less optimistic about Lagway playing this week.

“He stepped up,” Hansen said. “I can’t even imagine what was going through that guy’s head. I have a lot of respect for him. He left it all out on the field, and we’re going to rally around him this week and go out there and compete.”

Lagway, a five-star recruit from Willis, Texas, completed 2 of 6 passes for 47 yards, including a 43-yarder to Aidan Mizell for a touchdown.

Lagway has completed 61% of his passes for 1,071 yards, with six touchdowns and five interceptions. His numbers in his first two starts were eye-popping: 715 yards passing, including 10 completions of 40 yards or longer.

And it wasn’t dinks and dunks that turned into big gains. He dropped balls into buckets down the field and hit receivers in stride. He looked like the ideal fit for Napier’s read-option offense that takes deep shots.

It remains to be seen how Warner would fit into that mold. How Florida ended up with a walk-on as its third-string quarterback is probably more concerning.

Napier has lost eight scholarship QBs earlier than expected during his three years at Florida, including transfers Jalen Kitna, Jack Miller and Max Brown. Signee Jaden Rashada never made it to Gainesville after a name, image and likeness deal worth nearly $14 million fell through.

Rashada ended up at Arizona State for a year and then transferred to Georgia. He’s now suing Napier and a prominent booster over the NIL deal.

Colorado State transfer Clay Millen is on scholarship and behind Warner on the depth chart.

“I would take six or seven (quarterbacks) if you give them to me,” Napier said. “I think there’s a fine balance in there in terms of recruiting to that position. ... I just don’t think you can ever have enough of them.

“Now, that being said, we carry four on scholarship typically and a fifth if we were able to. But nowadays there’s a lack of patience, and everybody wants to be the guy. I just think you are always looking for that fourth player.”

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