Gene Frenette: Napier needs a lot to go right beyond prized QB DJ Lagway to resurrect UF football

It’s a good thing when eight Florida commitments bailed on Billy Napier in November and December — seven of them signing with Southeastern Conference schools — that DJ Lagway wasn’t part of the exodus.

Can you imagine the morale within Gator nation right now if UF’s prized 5-star quarterback, possibly the most hyped recruit in school history besides Tim Tebow and Emmitt Smith, had jumped ship?

Florida Gators recruit DJ Lagway.

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Napier — the beleaguered third-year football boss already sitting on arguably the hottest coaching seat in the country — would probably see whatever hope remains for a Florida turnaround evaporate into thin air.

Lagway is more than just a promising quarterback who could potentially lead a Gators’ revival. For the moment, he is practically a Napier lifeline.

So much of the UF optimism, and Napier has doused a good bit of it with head-scratching, game-day decisions and significant staff turnover, is tied to the 6-foot-3, 238-pound QB from the Texas small town of Willis.

Just as UF supporters rejoiced when Tebow, the former Nease High star, chose the Gators over Alabama back in 2006, reeling in Lagway was a huge sigh of relief. Especially after Texas, Auburn, Texas A&M, Georgia and Miami signed away a sizable portion of Napier’s former top-5 recruiting class, dropping Florida to 14th in the current rankings.

Going into spring football, so much uncertainty remains about whether Napier can survive beyond the 2024 season. Even with productive veteran quarterback Graham Mertz returning for a final year, to presumably be the starter and mentor for Lagway, questions remain about Napier’s job security.

Florida football coach Billy Napier (R), seen here gesturing toward assistant tight ends coach…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gene-frenette-napier-needs-lot-163213321.html

Author : The Florida Times-Union

Publish date : 2024-02-29 16:32:13

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