Florida coach Billy Napier plans to use both Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway at quarterback, saying during his Monday news conference, "these guys will make us harder to defend."
Lagway started against Samford last week in place of Mertz, out with a concussion, and set a school record for true freshmen with 456 yards passing in a 45-7 victory. Napier said Mertz has one more step to go through to clear concussion protocols. If he does that this week, as expected, Napier plans to play both quarterbacks Saturday against Texas A&M. How that will look -- and who will start -- Napier was not ready to divulge all that.
"That's where the gamesmanship is," Napier said. "I don't want to put the playbook on the streets here. Ultimately [Lagway's] one of our better players. We're going to give him an opportunity to impact the game and contribute to the team. That's our intention."
Napier said the plan coming into the season was always to use both quarterbacks. But Lagway did not enter the 41-17 season-opening loss to Miami until after Mertz was knocked out late in the game.
Against Samford, Napier said he was impressed with the poise Lagway showed and the vertical passing game. He had six completions that gained at least 30 yards, raising hopes among the Gator faithful that the future has arrived.
"Our intention the entire time has been to play DJ in every game," Napier said. "Obviously, he gets a little bit more experienced each week. 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, the composure, it shows he's ready to do what we intend to do with him going forward. There's no doubt both these guys will make us harder to defend."
Compare that to the offensive showing against Miami -- in which Mertz threw for 91 yards and the downfield passing game was nonexistent. Napier was quick to caution the vast difference in teams they faced.
"I'm ecstatic we've got a good young player in the building," Napier said. "We all know he's very talented. I'm hopeful he can do that on any stage against any opponent."
Napier also said Mertz has helped Lagway, including walk-throughs together Friday night.
"There's been a lot of these dynamics over the years in terms of having a veteran player who's accomplished, who's had a good career that's coming back, who's in a leadership role and then you've got this young talent," Napier said. "We're going to do what's in the best interest of the team. Both these players can make our team better. The great thing about it is there's a great relationship there. There's confidence, there's humility from both guys and I think there's a healthy respect from the team and the staff for both players."