Two SEC QBs Put Ahead of DJ Lagway in Latest Rankings
The legend of DJ Lagway began long before he stepped foot on the field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for the first time.
Advertisement
The now-Florida Gators starting quarterback was a consensus five-star recruit at Willis High School in Texas, where he recorded an absurd 129 total touchdowns in 42 career games. This led to being named the 2023 National Gatorade Player of the Year, among many other accolades.
Now, after a successful freshman year at UF, going 6-1 as a starter for the Gators, he promises to be one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC and the country in 2025.
On Tuesday, SEC Unfiltered's Chris Phillips released his Pre-SEC Media Days QB Rankings, and had Lagway in the top three.
The conference expert labeled Lagway as the third-best at his position in the SEC going into the 2025 season. The only two above Florida's signal caller were LSU's Garret Nussmeier and South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers.
Advertisement
Nussmeier started all 13 games for the Tigers last season, leading them to a 9-4 record. He threw for over 4,000 yards in 2024 with 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The Lake Charles, Louisiana, native is entering his fifth year at LSU and is an early choice to be a first-round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Sellers was a first-year starter last season with the Gamecocks after redshirting in 2023. He had over 2,500 yards passing with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2024 while rushing for 674 yards and seven more scores. This earned him Football Writers Association of America National Freshman Offensive Player of the Year honors.
As for Lagway, he was selected to the FWAA Freshman All-American Team in 2024 as a true freshman. He appeared in all 13 games for the Gators, throwing for just under 2,000 yards with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier and quarterback DJ Lagway (2).© Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
With 60 days until head coach Billy Napier and Florida take the field again on August 30, we are less than two months away from finding out if Lagway can live up to the expectations or will fall into a sophomore slump.
Advertisement
Related: Florida Makes Exciting Announcement Before 2025 College Football Season
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 2, 2025, where it first appeared.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
LeBron James Reportedly "Wants Out Of LA" And Lakers "Want Him Gone"
LeBron James Reportedly "Wants Out Of LA" And Lakers "Want Him Gone" originally appeared on Fadeaway World. Ever since the first-round exit in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, all eyes have been on the Lakers regarding what lies ahead for them, and especially LeBron James. Now, even after James picked up his $52.6 million player option for his 23rd season in the NBA, his future with the Lakers is not secure, as he is reportedly viewed as just another expiring contract and a potential trade piece. Advertisement Following this report of the Lakers viewing James as a trade piece, the Phoenix Sports Radio Host John Gambadoro, who is known to have some sources close to the league, claimed that James and the Lakers are on the same page about finding him a new trade destination. "I was told this after the playoffs by someone close to Lebron- said "Lebron wants out of LA and they want him gone. "Watch Game 1, how disinterested Lebron was." Now, MOST people on here know that my sources are not the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon." Whether or not James actually wants out of LA is still unknown, but veteran sources have claimed that we may have seen the last of LeBron James in a Lakers jersey. The 40-year-old star still averaged All-Star and All-NBA caliber numbers on the team last season, with 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds in 70 games played in the regular season alone. Yet his financial demands severely hinder the growth of the Lakers as they look to rebuild a long-term team around Luka Doncic. LeBron James And Austin Reaves Reportedly Don't Like Playing With Luka Doncic According to John Gambadoro, Austin Reaves and LeBron James are not fond of playing alongside Luka Doncic. This may be the potential reason why Reaves is holding out on signing a four-year extension with the team, and James is rumored to be asking for a trade. Advertisement When disputed online, Gambadoro defended his sources and claimed his 29 years of experience should give some credibility to his sources. "Boy, you would think after 29 years of doing the show, I may have gotten to know some people SMH" Just a few days ago, James' agent Rich Paul revealed that he acknowledges the team's future is to build around Luka Doncic, but James wants to contend for a championship. In between the lines, what wasn't said but was interpreted by all NBA fans is: Lakers are in a rebuild, and James wants to win. Since the Lakers are not in the position to win now, is this the end of James' time in LA? If James demands a trade out of the Lakers, where do you think he will land? Let us know in the comments section. Advertisement Related: LeBron James Has No Influence On Lakers' Free Agency Moves; NBA Insider Says Front Office Is Excluding Him This story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.


Fox News
21 minutes ago
- Fox News
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team that compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears hold the NFL records for the most Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees and most retired jersey numbers. Chicago is second all-time in overall victories behind their rival, the Green Bay Packers and are one of the oldest franchises in the NFL, dating back to their start in 1920. Chicago won their first and only Super Bowl in 1986 despite having various NFL greats play for their franchise like Walter Payton, Dick Butkus, Mike Ditka, and Brian Urlacher. The current quarterback of the Bears is Heisman Trophy winner and 2024 first overall pick, Caleb Williams.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
"We're Done With The 90s": LeBron James Takes A Shot At Old School NBA Players While Discussing Basketball's Evolution
"We're Done With The 90s": LeBron James Takes A Shot At Old School NBA Players While Discussing Basketball's Evolution originally appeared on Fadeaway World. LeBron James recently invited Kevin Durant on his "Mind The Game" podcast with Steve Nash. They discussed several aspects of NBA basketball, from trends to opinions and even the history of the game. While discussing the evolution of basketball from the 1990s to the modern-day game, James seemed to unintentionally take a shot at the 1990s players, seemingly in support of the 'We're done with the 90s' trend on TikTok. Advertisement He spoke with Durant and Nash on whether defense has gotten more creative or has the offensive game opened up further in the modern game. While James argued that the modern-day defense has boiled down to switching and talking trash, Nash argued that offensive avenues have opened up further in the modern game. 'I would almost flip it. It's not the defense, maybe defense has evolved now, but the offenses have challenged them more these days. New solutions, playing fast, shooting the ball from farther out, like you know, you watch clips from 15-20 years ago, like almost everybody's inside the three-point line,' said Nash. '15-20 years ago, sh** I was in the league. I thought you were about to say some sh** about the 90s man… We're done with the 90s!' exclaimed a 40-year-old James, realizing how long he had been in the league. Kevin Durant agreed and further claimed that the 1990s style of basketball "bled into" the 2000s so much that every team essentially had only one three-point shooter and the rest were players who only shot mid-range or closer. How Has Basketball Evolved Over The Years? Seeing the evolution of basketball into what it is today, from what it was just a few decades ago, is quite astonishing. Earlier, the average total scores for each team were much lower than what it is today. Some attribute this to better defense in the earlier days, and some attribute it to the efficient modern-day offense. Advertisement The average points per game for NBA teams in the 1990s was 101.3 points per game (ppg). This is lower than the 1980s (around 109 ppg) and significantly lower than the 1960s (115 ppg). But after the 1990s, the 2000s had an even lower team average of total points scored by each team (96.9 ppg). One could interpret the eras as follows: in the early 1960s and 1970s, the defensive game hadn't evolved as much as it did in terms of parity across all teams having strong defenders. Therefore, drive-in layups and mid-range shots were used sufficiently to generate points. In the 1980s and 1990s, defensive teams like the Bad Boy Pistons and prolific individual defenders like Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Michael Jordan, and David Robinson came to the spotlight. Hence, when defence became the blueprint to win, teams across the league saw a fall in their offensive efficiency even in the early 2000s. The 2010s (102.2 ppg) and 2020s (112.7 ppg) saw a rise in the offensive output due to the rise of the three-point shot in these generations. Players like Stephen Curry, Ray Allen, Kyle Korver, and Kevin Durant himself, pioneered the era that saw moving further away from the basket to score is also a viable solution. Related: LeBron James Reportedly "Wants Out Of LA" And Lakers "Want Him Gone" This story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.