Florida plans to use Mertz, Lagway against Texas A&M

Two is better than one for Florida ahead of its Week 3 matchup against Texas A&M.

Gators head coach Billy Napier confirmed that quarterbacks Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway will both take snaps in Saturday's game, though he remained coy about which player would get the start and the details of the split.

"That's where the gamesmanship is," Napier said, according to ESPN's Andrea Adelson. "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.

He added: "There's no doubt both these guys will make us harder to defend."

Mertz started in the Gators' opener against Miami two weeks ago. He completed 11 of 20 passes for 91 yards before leaving the game due to a concussion and being replaced by Lagway. The freshman signal-caller got his first collegiate start against Samford last weekend, and he used the opportunity to pass for a school-record 456 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions.

The 6-foot-3, 239-pound Lagway was a key piece of Florida's 2024 recruiting class as a five-star signee. The Willis, Texas native was named the 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year before beginning his collegiate career. His head coach said that the plan for the dynamic young QB was always to give Lagway time reps throughout the season.

"Our intention the entire time has been to play DJ in every game," Napier said.

Mertz is in his second year at Florida after transferring from Wisconsin at the end of the 2022 campaign. He passed for 2,903 yards, 20 touchdowns, three interceptions, with a 72.9% completion rate last season.