Future Florida QB DJ Lagway injured in Under Armour All-American Game
Florida’s highly touted Class of 2024 recruit DJ Lagway, the No. 2-rated quarterback in the country, according to 247 Sports, injured his right foot Wednesday during the Under Armour All-American Game at Camping World Stadium. The extent of the injury is unknown, but after the game, Lagway said his foot was stepped on after being tackled on a play on which he was scrambling out of bounds.
Lagway’s Team Fire lost the game to Team Ice 39-9.
Lagway remained in the locker room after teams returned to the field for the second half, but he was back on the field in the fourth quarter. After the game he was wearing slides and not showing much, if any, sign of any limping. Lagway said he was told it appeared to be a sprain on the top of his right foot, and that he would have X-rays in the morning.
“When it started to get worse, I was like, ‘Yeah, I can’t … nah,’ ” Lagway said of his decision to not return to the game. “Why play in the game? I kind of weighed it. I just prayed about it. God don’t make no mistakes. I feel like everything happens for a reason and stuff like that.
“So I just, you know, stay prayed up and just can’t wait to get to Florida.”
Lagway is headed to Gainesville Thursday to start his freshman year at UF, where he will be living on his own.
The quarterback played two series, getting hurt in the first quarter. He left the game and was on the trainer’s table getting an ice treatment. After that, he removed his jersey and shoulder pads, taking a seat on the sideline before heading to the locker room at halftime. During the limited time Lagway did have on the field, he was 5-of-10 passing for 46 yards and had a couple of passes dropped.
Lagway, from Willis, Texas, was named Mr. Football in the Lone Star State for an incredible senior season in which he accounted for 74 touchdowns — 58 passing and 16 rushing.
Lagway’s NIL representative Deiric Jackson, who is also Anthony Richardson’s agent, spoke with Lagway after the injury.
‘He’s going to fine,” Jackson told the Sentinel. “I told him to shut it down. It was bothering him enough. It was effecting how he plays the game.”
Gators fans could certainly be pleased, however, with the play of a pair of defensive standouts.
Signee Aaron Chiles Jr., a linebacker from Our Lady of Good Counsel in Upper Marlboro, Md., picked up a fumble late in the fourth quarter and returned it for a 34-yard touchdown. He nearly dropped the ball prior to reaching the end zone, but officials ruled he had crossed the plane. It was Chiles’ second fumble recovery of the game. He also jumped on a loose ball in the second quarter. He had three tackles in the game.
There were no postgame award announced, but Chiles certainly would have been in contention.
“I don’t think they gave it to me,” Chiles said, laughing. “It was fun though, coming out here competing against the best of the best.
“Stuff like this is what we dream of, coming out here, being on TV, representing the last name on your back … It’s amazing.”
Chiles said he was quite giddy after his second fumble recovery and the TD return.
“To have the only touchdown for our team, that felt great,” he said. “There were a couple of guys who didn’t want to play no more, so for me, I was just wanting to get out there and have fun and make plays.”
He said Gators fans are getting, “just a dawg, man … a straight goon. I’m ready to go down there and contribute, so they’re getting a dawg out of me.”
Future UF linebacker Myles Graham, the son of UF legendary running back Ernest Graham from Gainesville Buchholz, also had a nice game, tying for game high in tackles with 5, all solo. He also had a sack and a tackle-for-loss.
UCF future linebacker Jaqualin Birdsong, out of Troup County, Ga., had an outstanding game as well. He tied for game-high tackles with 5, including a sack, and had 2.5 tackles for loss, and he also recovered a fumble.
Florida State signee Lawayne McCoy of Miami Central had two tackles and a pass breakup.
Lake Mary offensive tackle Josh Raymond, who signed with Vanderbilt, capitalized on an opportunity to get the football in his hands when he jumped on a Team Fire fumble for the recovery. Unfortunately for the Fire, the fourth-down play ended in a turnover on downs.
“I got to touch the ball for the first time. In the past, I wanted to pick it up and run it for a while, but I got to touch the ball, so I’ll take it,” Raymond said. “It was amazing, absolutely amazing. Competing against the best of the best and it was unbelievable.
“After this game, I feel like I’m prepared [for Vandy]. I played against a bunch of SEC opponents and I actually went rep-for-rep with them, so it actually let me know what I need to work on before I get to Vanderbilt.
“It was great playing against 5-stars like Stone [David Stone, Oklahoma commit from IMG] and he’s a great player. I was just an amazing experience.”
Chris Hays covers high school and college football and college football recruiting. You can find him on X @OC_ChrisHays and on Instagram @OS_ChrisHays. He can be reached vis email at chays@orlandosentinel.com. Edgar Thompson contributed to this report.
