DJ Lagway: Billy Napier Hot Seat Rumors 'Motivation' for Florida During 2024 Season

The Florida Gators had a rough 2024 season, starting 4-5, which left head coach Billy Napier on the hot seat in his third year at the school.

Star quarterback DJ Lagway said that the outside criticism of their head coach helped to fuel a late-season turnaround, however, which included consecutive wins over LSU, Ole Miss, Florida State and Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl.

"That was definitely motivation, because I feel like they were disrespecting our coach, and disrespecting us, genuinely," he told Robert Griffin III on his Outta Pocket show (3:09 mark). "So we had to go out there and show them what we had. Obviously it took some bumps in the road, lots of ups and downs this year, but I feel like the end we kinda pulled it all together and figured it out. And hopefully we build on that momentum in the 2025 season."

Napier's three seasons at Florida have undoubtedly been a disappointment, with the Gators going just 19-19. The team did face a rough schedule in 2024, however, with losses to Miami, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Georgia and Texas. The latter three all reached the expanded College Football Playoffs, and Miami was just on the outside looking in.

Lagway, meanwhile, showed a lot of potential in his first season as the starter, throwing for 1,915 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The numbers don't jump off the page but his upside does, and Florida fans are plenty excited heading into 2025.