Paul Finebaum opines on what DJ Lagway needs to do to win Heisman 2025

Florida quarterback DJ Lagway made a name for himself last season as one of the most promising prospects in college football when he took over QB1 duties after Graham Mertz sustained a season-ending injury. Lagway finished the season with 1,915 passing yards resulting in 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

During Friday's segment of "The Paul Finebaum Show," the outspoken Finebaum talked about conditions under which Lagway would be in contention to win the coveted Heisman Trophy next season.

"To win the Heisman, you obviously need a great year," Finebaum said, via MSN. "But your team needs to be in contention. You don't have to win ... If Florida is really good and rolling along in November, in position to maybe get to the playoff, then I think he could have a chance. He'll play in enough marquee games."

DJ Lagway is the needle mover for the Gators, per analyst

During last week's segment of ESPN's "College Football" show, analyst Tom Luginbill pinpointed DJ Lagway as the X-factor in the unpredictable Florida Gators having the No. 10 recruitment class in the country.

“I think the biggest ‘X’ factor in all of that for … Florida was the allegiance of DJ Lagway to this program, no matter how bad things got, no matter who was tampering with him,” Luginbill said. “Let’s not forget, he had been committed to Florida for, what, well over a year? And every shark in the water was trying to steal him.

"But he maintained that allegiance and that loyalty, and I think that sends a message to everybody else. So, now, all of a sudden, you start winning, you start playing good, and the perception changes of your program. It took, what, three weeks? Four weeks? And everything changed for Florida’s program."

According to 247Sports, Florida's recruiting class jumped from No. 35 in October after Lagway took over QB1 duties to No. 27 in November. By December, the Gators had the No. 10 recruiting class in the nation.

The Florida Gators under Billy Napier won six of the games that DJ Lagway started and, despite a poor start to the season, finished with a respectable 8-5 record.