Rex Grossman says DJ Lagway was 'off the charts' in freshman season
Former Florida Gators quarterback Rex Grossman is all-in on DJ Lagway–and he wants to see Florida's offense go all-in, too.
In comments provided to Swamp247 via an interview, Grossman praised Lagway's 2024 freshman season and expressed confidence in the rising sophomore as the Gators prepare to hand him the keys in 2025.
"He played great and he showed that the games were not too big for him as a true freshman coming in there with all this hype," Grossman said. "As soon as he got his opportunity, he was off the charts."
Last season, Lagway completed 59.9 percent of his 192 pass attempts for 1,915 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Grossman, who threw 77 touchdowns for Florida from 2000-2002 and finished as the 2001 Heisman Trophy runner-up, sees shades of Daunte Culpepper in Lagway's toughness and arm talent.
"He's a tough guy to bring down, but he stays in the pocket, kind of like a Culpepper type," Grossman said. "People grabbing at his legs and he just kind of gets away a little bit and throws the ball on the money. I'm excited as a Florida Gator fan. We've got some pretty good wide receiver recruits and we won our last four or five games."
Now with Lagway firmly entrenched as the Florida starter, Grossman believes the pressure shifts to head coach Billy Napier to design a system that maximizes his quarterback's talents.
"(Napier) has to put (Lagway) in good situations," Grossman said. "I'd like to see them play a little up-tempo, maybe some zone-reads and things like, just throw everything at the defense the first month of the year and not try to sit back and be cautious."
Grossman added that he wants to see Florida's play-calling "go all-out in September" with tempo changes, misdirection and aggression–anything to keep defenses off-balance.
With spring behind them and fall camp ahead, Florida's future is riding on the arm of Lagway. The question now: Will the scheme be bold enough to match his ceiling?
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
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