Walk-On Warner takes the ride in the spotlight as Lagway Rehabs

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Billy Napier gave fans a glimmer of hope during his press conference on Monday by stating that DJ Lagway can return.

“The good news is that we have received positive information on that front,” Napier said. “That’s the positive there. We believe the damage is minor. We believe there is a path to recovery and return.”

Lagway injured himself after cutting and losing his footing with five minutes left in halftime against Georgia. The Gators held a 10-3 lead when he left, but the Florida offense lost its footing without Lagway down the stretch and UF lost 34-20.

But while Lagway rehabs and can return from the hamstring injury he suffered Saturday in Jacksonville in the second quarter, there’s a fair chance Florida will have to turn to another signal caller as a temporary replacement. If that happens,”Aidan Warner” will be on the tip of everyone’s tongues in Gainesville.

Warner, a Winter Park, Fla., native and redshirt freshman, joined Florida this spring as a walk-on but did not go through spring practice. He spent his first college season at Yale and saw no playing time.

Because Warner did not participate during spring practice or summer practice, when the team’s other quarterbacks received reps, he did not have much of an opportunity to showcase his talent. After senior Graham Mertz’s torn ACL on Oct. 12, Warner jumped to the second string and has impressed Florida’s coaches over the past three weeks.

“I would say he’s had some really good practices. I think there are some things to be encouraged,” Napier said.

Lagway’s sudden removal on Saturday thrust Warner into the spotlight at the Florida-Georgia game, having only touched the field once in an SEC game the previous year. His first instance of extended playing time featured a series of ups and downs.

The walk-on went 7-for-22 for 66 yards and an interception Saturday, much due to the constant pressure from the Georgia defense. Warner led the Gators on two scores: one on a field goal late in the first half and one on a touchdown in the fourth quarter. What UF fans may remember most, however, was his costly interception with three minutes left in the game.

Napier explained that he was still satisfied with Warner’s performance against the No. 2 ranked team in the nation.


“Look, the kid did as good a job as he could do. There’s going to be some plays that he wants back, but it’s a pretty big scene to trot out there in the middle of it,” Napier said. “I’ve been impressed with him.”


Before the Georgia game, Warner had seen limited action against Samford and Kentucky — the two games he was UF’s primary backup. In his first snaps as a Gator, he rushed for a 9-yard touchdown and completed a 10-yard pass against Samford. Almost a month later, he put up a similar stat line against Kentucky, completing a pass for 20 yards.

All that is to say, he didn’t have much experience under the SEC spotlight before Saturday.

“I came here, got the opportunity, found out my ACL was torn when I got here, had surgery,” Warner told reporters after the Kentucky game. “I mean, it’s been a wild ride. So just a lot of hard work to start building that confidence and realizing that I can play here. Once I got that confidence, I was off and running.”


Warner’s teammates credited him for standing firm against a jump in competition.


“He stepped up, man. He was put in the spotlight. I can’t even imagine what was going through that guy’s head,” tight end Hayden Hansen said. “I have a lot of respect for him. He left it all out on the field.”


Part of Warner’s ability to immediately step up in Florida is due to his intelligence and composure.


Hansen mentioned that Warner exuded confidence upon his arrival on UF’s campus, which is not typical of a walk-on. That confidence allows Warner to stay composed even when competing at a level he hasn’t seen before.


As a result of arriving from Yale, there is an expectation that Warner’s IQ and processing skills can be an advantage as a former Ivy League player. Hansen agreed with that.


“They’re a little bit different from everybody else. They can (do) different things,” Hansen said. “They expected different things. … He picked up this playbook pretty quickly.”


Warner’s impressive first few months at UF will be tested if Lagway is unable to return in the coming weeks. Florida faces No. 5 Texas this Saturday at the Forty Acres before returning home to take on No. 14 LSU and No. 16 Ole Miss in back-to-back weeks.


His teammates remain confident that he will continue to outperform his billing as he takes on some of the strongest teams in the SEC. Alas, he already did it against Georgia.


“He plays fearlessly. He came from Yale as a true freshman. He didn’t get any playing time there,” Hansen said. “He comes here to the SEC and he finds himself in the Florida-Georgia game. … I was proud of him.”


At 4-4, Florida’s season is on the line with every contest. The Gators must find two wins over the next four weeks to be bowl eligible, and they will face that task with a variety of different faces in the lineup than expected. Warner’s performance will be crucial in the next few weeks, and the rest of Florida’s team is preparing to back him up.


“We want to rally around him this week and go out there and compete,” Napier said.