In a 48-20 win over Kentucky last month, Florida football quarterback DJ Lagway and running back Jadan Baugh made history by becoming the first true freshman combo to ever start at quarterback and running back for the Florida Gators.
Lagway and Baugh provided quite an encore for UF in its upset against No. 19 LSU on Saturday at The Swamp. Baugh rushed for 65 yards and a TD, including a 55-yard TD run that put Florida ahead to stay 27-16 with 3:48 remaining. Lagway went 13 of 26 for 226 yards and a TD and set up UF’s go-ahead TD in the fourth quarter with a 37-yard strike to wide receiver Elijhah Badger down to the 1-yard line.
Florida is 3-1 with Lagway as a starter and 3-0 when he starts and finishes a game.
“The way that he carries himself, the moxie he plays with, the maturity for a young age. I think other people feed off of that,” Florida wide receiver Chimere Dike said. “I think we played well around him, especially defensively.”
Lagway and Baugh aren’t the only young standouts who have stepped up for UF in the last month. Redshirt freshman Knijeah Haris has made all 11 starts at left guard for the Gators this season, while redshirt freshman Aidan Mizell (12 catches, 151 yards, 2 TDs) is emerging as one of UF’s favorite deep targets. Lagway connected with Mizell on a 43-yard TD pass against Georgia before leaving the game due to a hamstring injury.
On defense, Florida relied on a number of first and second-year players including sophomore cornerback Dijon Johnson, redshirt freshman defensive back Aaron Gates, sophomore defensive back Sharif Denson, sophomore linebacker Jaden Robinson, true freshman linebacker Myles Graham, true freshman linebacker Aaron Chiles, sophomore defensive lineman Kamran James and true freshman edge rusher LJ McCray.
The promise of the young core of players at UF is a big reason why Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin is bringing back head coach Billy Napier for a fourth season.
Napier is curious to see how the younger players will handle success coming into UF’s home finale Saturday against No. 9 Ole Miss (noon, ABC).
“Can we sort through the hype a little bit and stay consistent in the way we prepare, our practice habits, our self-discipline, our film review,” Napier said. “I think long-term as a program to go where we want to go, we’re going to have to navigate that week in and week out.”
A win for Florida would clinch a bowl berth, which would also benefit UF’s younger players. The additional 15 practices in December will provide time to work on fundamentals and technique while preparing for another opponent.
“When those guys step up, they are ready because they’ve been developed under older players and also taken a lot of reps,” Florida defensive lineman Jack Pyburn said. “Just overall depth helps. When you have a deep locker room, when you have guys that can step up at every position, you know, ones and twos without a major dropoff, that’s how you play great.”
There are no guarantees, given players can leave any time in the era of the transfer portal, but Napier is trying to build a culture where players feel valued and want to stay. Florida has continued to play hard for Napier despite UF’s 1-2 start, which is another reason why Stricklin chose for Napier to stick around for a fourth season.
“We’ve worked on all the other parts of the player experience here,” Napier said. “I think it’s second to none, and I think seeing players improve and develop and grow into guys that can be some of the better players in the country at their position and have future NFL careers, that’s important.”
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
