UF QB DJ Lagway pushes to have Pied Piper Effect on Early National Signing Day

GAINESVILLE — Florida coach Billy Napier’s best recruiter could turn out to be the true freshman quarterback who spearheaded the Gators’ November turnaround.

Following a 31-11 win Saturday night at Florida State, DJ Lagway said he was ready to get to work building on UF’s momentum to strengthen his supporting cast in 2025.

“I’m definitely going to be involved in the transfer portal and the recruiting class,” the 19-year-old said. “But the biggest thing is keeping the guys that we have here … just making sure that everyone’s locked in.”

With Early National Signing Day set for Wednesday, some top prospects in the 2025 class have shifted their focus to Florida during a regular-season-ending three-game winning streak. Since a 27-16 upset of No. 22 LSU Nov. 16 in the Swamp, UF has earned commitments from 11 players to rise from No. 45 to No. 10 in 247Sports team rankings.

The latest is Jacksonville Mandarin safety Hylton Stubbs, the nation’s No. 57 prospect per 247Sports composite rankings and a Miami commitment. Stubbs’ decision Monday evening followed former UF defensive tackle commit Joseph Mbatchou’s returning to the fold Sunday night from Texas. A 4-star defensive lineman from Grayson (Ga.), the 6-foot-4 ½, 275-pound Mbatchou is the nation’s No. 296 overall prospect.

Hours before the Gators’ victory at FSU, Florida flipped 4-star offensive tackle Tavaris Dice from Auburn a day after 4-star edge rusher Jayden Woods changed his commitment from Penn State.

Dice, Stubbs and Woods became the third-, fourth- and fifth-highest-ranked commits in the Gators’ 2025 class. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Woods, who hails from Shawnee, Kan., ranks No. 10 at his position and No. 130 overall while the 6-foot-4, 295-pound Dice of Fairburn, Ga., is the No. 18 offensive tackle and No. 159 overall prospect.

Still headlining the class are two legacy Gators: Orlando Jones’ standout receiver Vernell Brown III and Miami Booker T. Washington cornerback Ben Hanks Jr., the Nos. 33 and 76 prospects in 2025.

The Gators have plenty to sell given their recent success. Yet the Lagway lure cannot be ignored.

Similar to incoming true freshman Chris Leak’s impact on nation’s top-ranked class in 2003, Lagway aims to have a Pied Piper Effect on the incoming class, along with potential transfers when the portal opens on Monday.

Beyond the physical tools, the 6-foot-3, 239-pound Texan has shown leadership, poise, big-play ability and a sense of the moment. Lagway’s latest feat was escaping the grasp of FSU’s 6-foot-5, 330-pound defender Darrell Jackson Jr. to complete a 17-yard pass to a tightly covered Chimere Dike.

“I was sitting on the sideline and I’m like, ‘No way he gets out of this,’ ” senior tailback Montrell Johnson Jr. said. “Then he gets out of this and he throws a dart to Chim.

“That man is great.”

The Gators hope players looking for a new home were watching.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at moc.lenitnesodnalro@nospmohtge