Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier shared that he’s committed to making sure both quarterbacks DJ Lagway and Graham Mertz play in Florida’s upcoming game against Mississippi State.

At his press conference on Monday, Napier praised both quarterbacks while laying out the plan for how the Gators will approach the position.

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“I would say that we’re committed to playing both players,” Billy Napier said. “The impressive thing to me is just how both these guys have handled themselves, how they’re working together, the camaraderie that they have that piece is impressive to me. That can be divisive if you’ve got the wrong people in the building. So, just the way they handled themselves last week.”

Graham Mertz came into the 2024 season as Florida’s starting quarterback. However, DJ Lagway despite being a freshman, came to Florida with a lot of excitement around him. When Mertz went down with a concussion, Lagway got his opportunity and Napier has chosen to play both, rotating drives, now that they’re both healthy.

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“I think we tried to define it for them so they weren’t looking over their shoulder and I think that worked. But the humility of both of these guys, the confidence of both of these guys and then the working relationship that they’ve had since the first day,” Napier said. “So, both have character. Both understand the dynamic. I think both of them can help our team and certainly it was great to have Graham back from injury and I thought he played well for the most part.”

Both Mertz and Lagway were given plenty of opportunities in the loss to Texas A&M. For his part, Mertz completed 12 of 15 passes for 195 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Lagway, on the other hand, completed just six of 13 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.

“So, one of the keys is we have to play well around these guys and we have to have some form of balance. I think that’s the whole key,” Napier said. “We have to play efficiently on first and second downs, stay out of these passing downs, and then we have to have some balance.”

This comes at a time when there is a lot of pressure on Billy Napier. Florida is off to a slow start and there are rumors surrounding Napier’s future with the program. So, the quarterback situation is under the magnifying glass.

“I think that some of it is open-ended. They know that. But, ultimately, my expectation is they both prepare well, they both practice well, and they both play lights out when given a chance,” Napier said.

“So, sometimes on offense, you know, we’ve got a crowd in there watching the game. They don’t sometimes. Hey, it’s not the quarterback’s fault or it is the quarterback’s fault. So, we know and I’m able to make decisions based off of that. If they’re not doing what they’re supposed to do, then they can stand beside me. But, for the most part, I don’t think we necessarily had that problem.”

Billy Napier added that the goal is to get both players time in the game early in each half they play and then ride the hot hand.

“I think the approach we’ve taken kind of gets DJ involved early and then we leave it open-ended after that. That’s kind of commitment there,” Napier said. “So, both halves are that way. That’s, ultimately, what we’ve decided to do.”

Next week’s game at Mississippi State will be the first for Lagway on the road and it’s in one of the SEC’s unique environments. So, how he responds to that is going to be vital to determining how Florida ends up rotating its quarterbacks.

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