Florida's DJ Lagway Transfers After Coaches Challenge His 'Competitiveness, Work Ethic'

Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway, the by far the most significant recruit of former Gators coach Billy Napier, is now, like the coach who recruited him, a former Gator.

The shocking news broke Monday morning that the highly prized 2023 recruit had elected to enter the transfer portal despite sources close to the former 5-star claiming he wanted to remain in Gainesville.

The divorce between Lagway and the Gators began, reportedly, after a meeting with the new Florida coaching staff.

Lagway, according to sources quoted by CBS Sports, wanted to hear what the new head coach, Jon Sumrall, and his staff had planned for his development.

“He didn’t care about the money,” a source told CBS Sports. “He didn’t care about them bringing someone else in. He just wanted to hear you have the ability, and we want to coach it out of you.”

According to reports, that’s not what Lagway heard.

Instead, according to sources cited by CBS Sports, Sumrall and his staff used the meeting as a wake-up call for the young quarterback and an opportunity to challenge him on his competitiveness and work ethic.

“Sumrall questioned what he’s about,” one source said.

“New Florida head coach Jon Sumrall questioned who Lagway is as a football player,” CBS Sports reports. “The new staff opted to challenge the high-priced quarterback, pushing him on his competitiveness and work ethic.”

While reports indicate that Lagway’s reputation around the campus as a worker is solid, his performance on the field this year was anything but.

After a solid freshman season, Lagway threw 14 interceptions this year, second most in FBS. He also had several throws where his mechanics and his processing of information, as far as what defenses were showing him and reading his receivers, seemed off.

Assuredly, much of that had to do with injuries that plagued his offseason and hindered his ability to develop chemistry with his receivers.

However, Lagway is healthy now; he has all the talent in the world, and any new school that pursues him will have to consider his entire body of work. They will also have to consider that Florida’s new coaching staff challenged him, and he chose to transfer. And Florida apparently did not put up much of a fight to keep him.