Five-star quarterback DJ Lagway of Willis, Texas, committed to the Gators for more than a year before officially signing with them on the first day of the early signing period. Since joining the class in December of last year, the highly valued Gators commit has served as the class’s unifying force. Throughout his recruiting process, he has not only been a persistent recruiter for the Gators but has also made several trips to Gainesville.
Over the course of the season, Lagway shown his unwavering devotion, but teams like Clemson, Texas A&M, and Houston attempted to make a last-ditch effort to sign him before the official paperwork was completed. After failing in those endeavors, he officially parted ways with the Gators.
“I have complete faith in my friend, Coach Napier. Despite the abundance of misinformation I’ve been exposed to on Twitter, I have complete faith in Coach Napier’s work and am eager to contribute. For him, I’ll sprint through a wall. I am eager to arrive and fulfill all the requests from him and the other coaches in order to start this going.”
Florida returns a lot of young pieces from their roster next season when Lagway is a freshman. As he continues to get acclimated with the program, and the Gators being in this 2024 class that Lagway has helped build, he sees a bright future in The Swamp.
“I know they are young, so I can see the talent that is going to be there probably when I get there, and I also know the talent coming in with me that is going to be there when I get there. That is a big thing for me. I can’t do anything without the guys up front and the guys catching the ball and running the ball. You got to have the talent around you. It’s a bright spot for sure.”
Former Tulane defensive line coach Gerald Chatman has emerged as a target for the Florida defensive line coaching job, multiple sources informed Swamp247 as well as 247Sports national football reporter Matt Zentiz on Wednesday afternoon.
Chatman has experienced a variety of roles over the last several year, most recently as defensive line coach at Tulane where he helped the Green Wave limit opposing FBS teams to just 3.2 yards per carry (ranked No. 10 nationally) and record sacks on 6.98 percent of their total defensive plays, the No. 49 mark nationally. Chatman’s lone season as defensive line coach with Tulane came after he spent the spring at LSU as the interim defensive line coach. Tulane’s defensive line group totaled 52.5 tackles for loss, 27 sacks, 15 quarterback hurries, five forced fumbles and four pass breakups in 2023.
“Coach Chatman is one of the top up and coming defensive line coaches in the country,” former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said of Chatman last year. “He is extremely knowledgeable about all phases of defensive line play and is an excellent recruiter with outstanding character.”
