Tag: APP Sports

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida is moving to a two-quarterback system and giving highly touted freshman DJ Lagway a chance to prove his dazzling debut was no fluke.

Exactly how coach Billy Napier uses Lagway and experienced senior Graham Mertz remains to be seen, though.

The tandem — well, mostly Lagway — will be in the spotlight when the Gators (1-1) host Texas A&M (1-1) on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

“I don’t want to put the playbook on the streets here,” Napier said.

Napier insisted his plan all along was to get Lagway “in every game,” but the consensus No. 1 quarterback recruit in 2023 didn’t play in the opener against then-No. 19 Miami until Mertz sustained a concussion on the final play of the third quarter.

With Mertz sidelined last week, Lagway got his first career start against lower-division and clearly overmatched Samford and delivered the best performance by a freshman quarterback in school history.

Lagway completed 18 of 25 passes for 456 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-7 victory Saturday night. He shattered the previous freshman mark of 268 yards set by Chris Leak in 2003 against Kentucky.

“If we played the Chicago Bears (on) Saturday, it would be a different story,” Napier said in an attempt to slow the Lagway hype train.

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Texan connected on six passes that gained at least 30 yards — something Mertz and the Gators accomplished a mere 14 times last season. His perfectly placed touchdown passes to Tank Hawkins and Aidan Mizell were as jaw-dropping as anything former Florida quarterbacks Kyle Trask or Anthony Richardson did in the Swamp.

“He gets a little bit more experienced each week, and certainly for him to have the opportunity to be the starter, prepare with the 1s and then go play, and the way he did that, the poise, composure, it shows that he’s ready to do what we intended to with him going forward,” Napier said.

Mertz, a second-year starter at Florida who transferred from Wisconsin, was solid but far from stellar last season. He threw for 2,903 yards, with 20 touchdowns and three interceptions, before breaking his collarbone at Missouri in mid-November.

The Gators finished 5-7 and missed a bowl game for only the third time since 1990. Napier called Mertz’s decision to stay in school “a huge deal” for the program. Mertz spent much of last week helping Lagway get up to speed.

“What I learned about myself is really just that I can adapt to anything,” Lagway said. “Just be ready for any opportunity that comes my way.”

Some close to the team said they believe Mertz would respectfully handle a reduced role, even if it meant taking a backseat to Lagway the rest of the year.

“We’re going to do what’s in the best interest of the team,” Napier said. “I think both these players can make our team better. I think that’s what we intended to do.

“The great thing is there is a great relationship there — confidence, humility from both guys, and a healthy respect from the team and staff for both players.”

Napier can’t really afford to mess up the quarterback situation. He already is under intense scrutiny following two mediocre seasons filled with in-game gaffes and head-scratching decisions. And there’s a growing sentiment that he could be fired if the losses continue to mount.

He’s 12-15 at Florida in three seasons, including 2-10 against ranked opponents and 1-8 against rivals Miami, Florida State, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee. Napier already has the same number of home losses as Steve Spurrier had in a dozen years at his alma mater.

Would he rather have the 23-year-old Mertz or the 19-year-old Lagway essentially in charge of his fate?

Outspoken defensive lineman Tyreak Sapp, asked about moving forward with Mertz and Lagway splitting time, said opponents are the ones who will face the real dilemma.

“You want to get bit by a rattlesnake, or you want to get bit by a king cobra?” Sapp said. “Pick your poison. Either way, I think you’re going to die.”

GAINESVILLE, Fla.  — Even though he grew up in Miami and kept close tabs on the Hurricanes, Florida cornerback Jason Marshall knows little about the once-heated rivalry involving the two Sunshine State teams.

The Florida Flop? The Peach Pelting? The Bourbon Street Brawl?

Marshall hasn’t heard of any of them. He knows the Gators won two of the past three matchups, in 2008 and 2019. Much of his knowledge comes from watching highlights designed to educate Florida players on the history of the game that peaked as one of the nation’s best in the 1980s.

What stood out?

“I would say just the nastiness that both teams have toward each other,” Marshall said. “Like, there’s hate there.”

No. 19 Miami and Florida will open their seasons in Gainesville on Saturday, ushering in a new chapter in a series that provided several instant classics and plenty of hard feelings over eight-plus decades.

Many fans say they believe it should be an annual occurrence, a debate ignited every time they land on each other’s schedule.

“This is the real deal, the good ol’ days,” former Miami center and longtime radio broadcaster Don Bailey Jr. said. “When it was going every year, it was the most important game on the schedule. Period.”

It’s been one-sided of late, with the Hurricanes winning seven of nine and 12 of 17.

No one on either roster played in the last meeting five years ago, so even though most of them crossed paths in high school and on recruiting trails, they share little animosity. And the coaches, Miami’s Mario Cristobal and Florida’s Billy Napier, are friends who spent four years as offensive assistants together at Alabama (2013-16) under then-coach Nick Saban.

“Just a great human being,” Napier said. “We were in the trenches on offense. We were in the trenches together in recruiting. There’s certainly a relationship there. It’s an added element to the game to some degree.”

The rivalry has a rich history, complete with cakewalks, comebacks and controversy.

Miami romped the last time the teams played annually, a 31-4 drubbing in 1987 in which Florida scored on a pair of safeties because center Willis Peguese sailed snaps through the end zone.

The 2003 game was one for the ages. Brock Berlin rallied Miami from a 23-point deficit to stun the Gators. It ranks right up there with right-hander George Mira’s left-handed pass to beat Florida in 1961 and fullback James Jones’ falling-backward, one-handed touchdown catch in the closing minutes to seal a victory for the Gators in 1982.

The Florida Flop, the Peach Pelting and the Bourbon Street Brawl have their place in series lore, too.

With Florida leading 45-8 late in the 1971 season finale, defenders dropped to the ground and let the Hurricanes score so quarterback John Reaves could have the ball back and get the 15 yards he needed to break Jim Plunkett’s NCAA record for career passing yards.

Miami coach Fran Curci refused to shake hands with Florida’s Doug Dickey afterward, calling it a “bush-league stunt.” Adding insult to Miami’s misery, several Gators jumped into the Orange Bowl pool that housed Miami Dolphins mascot Flipper during NFL games.

The celebration fired up the Hurricanes for years.

The rivalry grew even more bitter in 1980, when Florida fans — angry that the Gators trailed Miami 28-7 late in Gainesville — threw oranges, tangerines, peaches and ice cubes at the Hurricanes, who were headed to the Peach Bowl. Miami coach Howard Schnellenberger was furious and ordered a field goal to add to the final margin.

Florida coach Urban Meyer repaid the Hurricanes in 2008 by sending Jonathan Phillips on to kick a 29-yard field goal with 25 seconds left to punctuate a 26-3 victory.

For the Gators, the game played annually between 1938 and 1987 never reached the heights of Southeastern Conference rivalries Georgia and Auburn or the annual affair with Florida State.

So Florida dropped Miami in 1988 because it wanted to play a “more national schedule.” The Gators promptly replaced the Hurricanes with Montana State. Coach Steve Spurrier boasted about wanting Miami back on the schedule when he returned to his alma mater in 1990.

“I was just trying to be real bravo,” Spurrier admitted last week.

After a 13-year hiatus, Florida and Miami played again in the 2001 Sugar Bowl. Just a few nights before Miami’s 37-20 win, a handful of players from both teams mixed it up on Bourbon Street.

It’s been relatively quiet since, although a new wrinkle is always looming. The teams are scheduled to play in Miami next year.

“There might not be any angst right now, but the losing team has to live with it the rest of their lives,” Bailey said. “They may not look at it that way now. But lose that game, and let’s talk about in 10, 20, 30 or 40 years. That’s how big this is.”