The Florida Gators have struggled with depth at the quarterback position over the last few seasons due a bevy of unexpected departures that came amid myriad reasons. Head coach Billy Napier continued his effort to shore up that position entering the 2025 season on Saturday when former Charlotte 49ers quarterback Deshawn Purdie announced that he will play for the Gators next year.
Purdie (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) completed 50% of his passes for 1,802 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions last season. The true freshman from Baltimore was rated as a three-star prospect out of high school and a three-star transfer by 247Sports. He chose UF after also taking visits to Georgia and North Carolina.
Freshman DJ Lagway returns as Florida’s entrenched starter next season with Purdie and four-star Tramell Jones Jr. (Jacksonville, FL), the No. 229 prospect in the Class of 2025, likely to compete for the primary backup job.
The Florida Gators have struggled with depth at the quarterback position over the last few seasons due a bevy of unexpected departures that came amid myriad reasons.
Redshirt freshman walk-on Aidan Warner, a transfer from Yale, was the third-string signal caller during the season with redshirt junior Clay Millen, a transfer from Colorado State, never getting on the field.
Should Billy Napier call plays for Florida football in 2025? Gasparilla Bowl raises concerns
The celebration spilled onto the field as Florida football players and coaches hoisted the Gasparilla Bowl trophy following UF’s 33-8 win over Tulane at Raymond James Stadium on Friday.
Derek Lagway was there, watching his son, Florida Gators freshman quarterback D.J. Lagway, take questions from the ESPN2 broadcast team after earning game MVP honors. It wasn’t the cleanest game for Lagway, who threw two interceptions in the first half, but the 6-foot-3, 239-pound phenom from Willis, Texas, still finished his rookie campaign 6-1 as a starter after completing 22-of-35 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown in the bowl game.
UF’s shaky first half ― Florida led just 6-0 at halftime after failing to score a TD in two red zone trips ― again raised the biggest question for the Gators heading into the offseason: Will Billy Napier still call plays in 2025?
Some of UF’s early offensive struggles could be attributed to the rust of the three-week layoff since its season finale against Florida State on Nov. 30. But Florida didn’t start fast offensively in that game, either. Tulane threw some zone coverages at Lagway that he seemed ill-prepared to handle. Some of that rests on UF’s freshman quarterback, but some better concepts and more well-timed play calls could have helped Lagway establish a better rhythm earlier in the game.
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