Billy Gonzales explains how he’s trying to get DJ Lagway back on track

Billy Gonzales has a tough job on his hands as the interim head coach of the Florida Gators.

The Gators are 3-6, and they very well could finish this season at 3-9 with games against No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 23 Tennessee and Florida State to finish out the season.

Gonzales not only has to try to keep his team together and perhaps win a game or two as the replacement for Billy Napier, but he also has the very important task of shepherding quarterback DJ Lagway through this period.

Lagway has star potential, and he showed that off in his freshman season, but this 2025 campaign has been a disaster. It got so bad in Florida’s 38-7 loss to Kentucky that Gonzales actually pulled Lagway at halftime in favor of backup quarterback Tramell Jones.

Gonzales did that not to punish Lagway, but because he was trying to protect him and help him regain his focus. 

The expectation is that Lagway will start the game against Ole Miss, and it’s worth noting that Florida’s interim head coach is reporting that the young quarterback took his benching well.

“He’s been fantastic. He was awesome,” Gonzales said, according to Thomas Goldkamp of On3. “He’s done a great job. Went out there yesterday. First two days, really, really good. I’ll talk about yesterday’s practice, but he had a really good practice. He understands. I’ve had a chance to talk to him a couple times, and we just talked about what does he like, and some of the things we can do to help him. It’s a learning process, and again, I talked to him, for me it was all about refocus. Just refocus.”

Billy Gonzales trying to get Florida Gators QB DJ Lagway to relax and focus

Focus has been the keyword for Gonzales during this time. One could see how benching a player who was lauded as a rising superstar last season could backfire for the Gators, but Gonzales has used this time to make sure that Lagway understands what is expected of him.

One gets the sense that the former 5-star quarterback from Willis, Texas, has felt that he has to shoulder the load of turning this Florida program around. Perhaps that has caused him to play tight and to make mistakes, and Gonzales is trying to get him out of that mindset.

“He understood that it was a performance-driven game and that’s, again, it all starts with him,” Gonzales said. “And that’s where I said the other day, I said listen, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, no, no. It does not all begin with you, and I want you to take the pressure off you,” Gonzales explained. “I don’t want that at all. I want you to be able to go relax, go be a great player. You do what you do and you’re a great player because you can make plays and you can extend plays.’ But the pressure is on the coaching staff. I want him to always remember that. That’s how it should always be.”

Gonzales will likely not get the full-time head coaching job at Florida, but if he can get Lagway to relax and play within himself, it will pay dividends for the Gators, at least next season.

Lagway has thrown for 1,762 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, but he has also thrown 12 interceptions.