Where does Florida football's quarterback room rank in ESPN's 2025 FBS tiers?
The quarterback has historically been the keystone position in the sport of football and that fact still rings true in 2025. Championships are often won on the shoulders of the best signal-callers, especially at the college level.
Looking ahead to next fall's campaign, ESPN reporter David Hale took a moment to rank all 136 FBS quarterback situations into tiers now that the dust has settled from the spring practice season. The full list comprises 20 total tiers that are also broken down into subdivisions based on his "Magic Eight Ball" predictions.
The Florida Gators earned a spot in the top tier, second division entitled, "So hot right now," based on starter DJ Lagway and backup Harrison Bailey's presence under center. The category also included Texas Longhorns gunslingers Arch Manning and Matthew Caldwell, as well as Miami Hurricanes passers Carson Beck and Emory Williams.
"The conversation around Manning and Lagway is two former five-star recruits who appear on the verge of breakout performances," Hale notes. "Their ceilings are ridiculously high, but their actual on-field production so far leaves plenty of room for questions."
DJ Lagway's 2024 stats
The 6-foot-3-inch, 239-pound signal caller out of Willis, Texas, appeared in 12 of Florida's 13 games last season while logging seven starts. The Gators won six of those games he opened up under center, with the lone loss coming against the Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville — a game he was knocked out of with a lower-body injury after rallying his team in the first half.
Lagway completed 59.9% of his passes for 1,915 yards and 12 touchdowns against nine interceptions last fall. He also amassed a multitude of accolades, including a spot on the FWAA Freshman All-American Team, as well as ESPN Freshman All-American, 247Sports True Freshman All-American, On3 True Freshman All-American, PFF True Freshman All-American, CFN Freshman Quarterback of the Year and All-American, plus the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl MVP award.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
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