Florida received better news than expected on quarterback DJ Lagway’s hamstring injury after the freshman underwent testing on Sunday evening, head coach Billy Napier shared during his weekly press conference on Monday afternoon.
The third-year Gator coach said the ailment was “less significant that initially feared” and did not rule Lagway out for Florida’s road game at No. 5 Texas on Saturday.
“Injuries are one of the more challenging parts of the profession, coaching and playing,” Napier said. “They good news is we’ve had positive information on that front. That is the positive there. We do think the injury is less significant. We do think there is a pathway to a recovery and a return… We have not completely ruled him out. A lot of that is to be determined as we move throughout the week.
“Soft tissue, those are the challenging ones right. I think the position he plays contributes to that. We’re going to exhaust every resource we have. We’re very fortunate to have a great group of people who work with our teams. It’s really a competitive advantage for our players.”
The former five-star prospect suffered an apparent leg injury on a three-yard rush early in the second quarter of Florida’s 34-20 loss to No. 2 Georgia on Saturday.
Lagway immediately grabbed the back of his left leg after hitting the turf and quickly carted off the field after his teammates walked onto the field to wish him well.
The Gators will monitor Lagway throughout the week to assess his availability.
“We’re going to kind of see how that goes,” Napier said. “I think obviously the position he plays makes that possible. We definitely — it’s going to be pretty clear cut when we get to Wednesday, Thursday, Friday so we’ll know.
“We did the MRI Sunday and got good news on that front.”
Napier added that his star freshman is eager to see the field in short order.
“I think that he in particular is a great competitor and he wants to be loyal to his teammates and be available to do his part for his team,” Napier said.
In the event Lagway is unable to make what would be a reasonably surprising return to the field Saturday, the Gators are set to start third-team quarterback Aidan Warner, a sophomore preferred walk-on from Yale.
Warner completed 7-of-22 passes for 66 yards and an interception on Saturday against the Bulldogs.
“He was the backup and obviously we were hoping we didn’t have to go there and we did,” Napier said. “Georgia is a stingy operation and I think they can make it very challenging for you… the kid did as good a job as he could do.”
Colorado State transfer Clay Millen would back up Warner.
“Clay is a very capable player as well and he’ll get all the reps with the twos this week,” Napier said.
