Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway has quickly become a serious contender for the 2025 Heisman Trophy. With impressive performances at the end of last season and growing national recognition, he is already considered among the top quarterbacks in the sport.
As the 2025 season creeps closer, can Lagway ward off a tough SEC schedule and live up to his lofty expectations to lead the Gators to a run in the College Football Playoff?
DJ Lagway Heisman Odds and Rankings
DJ Lagway, the quarterback for the Florida Gators, is gaining national recognition as a Heisman Trophy frontrunner entering next season. BetOnline recently released its Heisman odds, and Lagway slotted in as the player with the fifth-best odds at +1100.
Louis Riddick, a football analyst for ESPN, praised Lagway for his creativity on the fly in a post on X. The clip, which featured a play that Lagway made against the Ole Miss Rebels last season, was made possible when Lagway evaded pressure from the defense and converted for a first down.
DJ Lagway is a freak. Will be a Heisman finalist before his career is over.@GatorsFB pic.twitter.com/8QxE5MDvY2
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) November 26, 2024
“DJ Lagway is a freak,” Riddick wrote. “Will be a Heisman finalist before his career is over.”
As for the rest of the Heisman field, the four players ahead of Lagway are Texas quarterback Arch Manning (+600), who is the favorite, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier (+800) and Oklahoma’s John Mateer (+900) at second and third, and Penn State’s Drew Allar (+1000) at fourth.
These rankings suggest that Lagway has a strong chance of making a run at the Heisman if he can continue his stellar play. His 2025 campaign features several key road trips to LSU, Miami, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss. The Gators will also host a couple of SEC powerhouses like Texas and Tennessee.
Lagway’s performance during the 2024 season solidified his reputation as one of the top returning quarterbacks in college football. In 11 games, he threw for 1,610 yards and 11 touchdowns, leading Florida to a 5-1 record as the starting signal-caller. His only loss came against Georgia, where he was forced to leave the game early due to a hamstring injury.
Key victories over No. 22 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss propelled the Gators to a surprising 7-5 finish after a rough start. After stumbling to a 4-5 mark, Florida turned things around, securing its first winning season since 2020.
Can a Strong Gasparilla Bowl Performance Roll Over Into 2025 Success?
Florida’s 2024 Gasparilla Bowl victory over Tulane was the first bowl victory under head coach Billy Napier. A strong performance by Lagway gave Gator fans some well-deserved hope for next season.
According to 247Sports, the quarterback came into college as one of the best players in the country. He was the No. 3 overall prospect nationally and the top-ranked quarterback and athlete out of Texas.
Initially serving as a backup to Graham Mertz, Lagway made his debut in the season-opening loss to Miami. His first career start came in Week 2 against Samford when Mertz was sidelined with to a concussion.
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Even after Mertz returned, Lagway continued to log playtime. When Mertz suffered an ACL tear in Florida’s 23-17 loss to Tennessee, Lagway stepped in as the full-time starter for the remainder of the season.
The Florida Gators have a history of producing Heisman-winning quarterbacks. Three Florida QBs have won the prestigious award: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), and Tim Tebow (2007). Additionally, two others—Rex Grossman (2001) and Kyle Trask (2020)—were Heisman finalists but fell short of winning.
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