“I try not to talk football”: When DJ Lagway’s mom opened up on how she keeps things 'normal' with Florida star at home

A documentary that covered the life of DJ Lagway as a high school athlete was released in June 2022 by Baller Tribe on YouTube. The quarterback was already an impressive athlete, catching the attention of several reputable college football programs across the country.

DJ Lagway’s mother, Nikita Lagway, discussed how he relates to the quarterback at home. While the majority of his life outside the home is about football, Nikita tries to keep things cool and keep the home free of football talks to ease the pressure off the quarterback.

“I try to keep it more of like – try not to talk football with DJ,” Nikita said (Timestamp 10:36). “Because he talked football with his coaches, he talked football with the coaches that he spoke to when they offered him. He talked football with his daddy a lot.

“So me and his little brother, we kind of keep it normal. We try our best to keep it normal. Let's talk about what's going on, let's talk about school because I stay on top of the school, but it's been like, I tell everybody, surreal. That's my baby.”

Nikita’s unwavering support for DJ Lagway through his football journey

Nikita Lagway has been one of DJ Lagway's biggest supporters in the course of his football career. She's been there for the quarterback through thick and thin, ensuring he's the best version of himself. Nikita has consistently seen the greatness in his son, and she spoke about it in the documentary.

“Although I know he’s great, or I feel like he’s great and amazing, not everybody else gets to see this young man in the way I see him,” Nikita said (Timestamp 11:12). "And so the recruiting process has been just surreal. It's like wow, like I had to get – I didn't have a social media (earlier).

“But like I said, I try my best not to talk football, talk shop at home. I try to keep it normal. (The) most I do if you have a game and I'm like, ‘Baby, you did a great job.’ He’s hard on himself, so I try to pick him up because he'll be like, ‘Oh no, I could have did (this).’”

DJ Lagway’s greatness was seen through his recruiting process at high school as many programs queued to have him. The quarterback had offers from top college programs like USC, Texas A&M, LSU, Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma, Alabama, Oregon and a host of others.

He landed at Florida following what was a hectic recruiting process. Lagway’s greatness has also been evident in his performance as a freshman in college football. He impressed largely with the Gators in 2024, throwing for 1,915 yards and 12 touchdowns.