Something to Believe In: Why DJ Lagway is Just the Spark Baylor Football Needed

As apathy reached, perhaps, its lowest point amongst the Baylor fanbase in over a decade, the commitment of Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway came at the perfect time for a program and a fanbase that desperately needed some positive news.

It’s been a rough go of things in recent months, as the Bears blew all the goodwill they had built up in 2024 with a massively disappointing year that featured a slew of sluggish starts, a handful of blowout losses and an inconsistent offense paired with a despondent defense.

Meanwhile, off the field, a scandal involving the former athletic director, Mack Rhoades, came at the worst possible time, forcing the university’s president, Linda A. Livingstone, to step in and announce on Nov. 21 that head coach Dave Aranda, despite having a 36-37 career record, would be retained, much to the chagrin and outrage of the fanbase.

Things were so bleak that people were grasping at straws, hoping that because she didn’t explicitly say that he would return for 2026, it meant that the new athletic director would come in and immediately fire Aranda, all to no avail.

In Livingstone’s letter announcing Aranda’s retention, one of the three reasons she gave for keeping him was “retaining our current roster and protecting a nationally ranked recruiting class are essential to our future success.”

Less than two weeks after she said that, Baylor suffered another big blow when its top three recruits — Jamarion Carlton (Temple HS), Jamarion Vincent (Connally HS) and Jordan Clay (San Antonio Madison) — left for Texas, Michigan and Washington ahead of National Signing Day on Dec. 3.

To make matters worse for a sizeable chunk of the fanbase, the Bears then had an opportunity to go to the Birmingham Bowl, despite ending the year a win shy of bowl eligibility. Baylor turned it down on Dec. 7, noting, “We have declined the opportunity to play in a bowl, as we’ve already progressed deeply into the offseason timeline of preparation for the 2026 season.”

Not to mention that, up until noon today, the Bears had been beaten up badly in the transfer portal, losing former Freshman All-American running back Bryson Washington, three-year starting center Coleton Price (Kentucky), All-Big 12 linebacker Keaton Thomas (Ole Miss) and stud safety DJ Coleman (Florida) to SEC schools.

All of that to say, it’s been a hard couple of months for the Baylor football program and its fanbase, but securing a commitment from Lagway is the perfect antidote to, at the very least, bring some excitement and juice back to Waco.

If you’re not caught up to speed on why everyone is so excited about the prospect of seeing the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Lagway rock the Green and Gold this fall, for starters, he was the No. 1 quarterback in the nation for the 2024 recruiting class and a five-star prospect. Plus, he is a Baylor legacy, as his father, Derek, played running back for the Bears from 1997 to 2001.

The former Gatorade Player of the Year totaled 5,558 yards of offense and 75 touchdowns during his senior season at Willis High School (TX). During his three-year high school career, he threw for 8,393 yards and 101 touchdowns, while rushing for 2,197 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Lagway is a consensus top-10 quarterback and top-25 overall prospect in the transfer portal rankings, and he entered the 2025 season as a Heisman Trophy contender. He is set to become the highest-ranked high school prospect Baylor has ever rostered.

In other words, it’s a big deal. And while we’ve yet to see how Lagway’s commitment materializes in terms of recruiting momentum for the Bears, you’d figure it’s almost assured to come, as Baylor needs to reshape its roster and replace production at almost every single position group.

The Bears seem to be in really good spots, according to Grayson Grundhoefer, with Tulane’s top wide receiver, Shazz Preston, and one of Colorado’s top weapons, Dre’Lon Miller. If those two end up at Baylor, it’ll be hard for others not to notice the momentum taking place.

As for what the 2026 starting signal caller brings to the field, Tom Luginbill of ESPN said, “Lagway's rare blend of size, mobility and arm strength translates to a high ceiling. He can drop the ball in the bucket and hit receivers in stride, throwing downfield. He's quick for his size and is tough to tackle when he gets into space, making him more of a threat as a runner and scrambler than the stats would suggest. He has started 19 games with 13 of those coming against SEC teams. Lagway might be the most physically gifted player at the position in the portal.”

As a freshman, Lagway replaced an injured Graham Mertz early in the season and ended up leading the Gators to a 7-1 record, throwing for 1,915 yards with 12 touchdowns.

Lagway took his lumps in 2025, throwing for 2,264 yards with 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Hopefully, the sophomore struggles can be chalked up to injuries and to Billy Napier, Florida’s head coach, being fired midseason.

Maybe a fresh start in Waco, alongside offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, is just what Lagway needs. The last four quarterbacks that Spavital has worked with as an OC have put up insane numbers — Sawyer Robertson (6,752 YDs, 59 TDs, 23 Starts), Fernando Mendoza (1,708 YDs, 14 TDs, 9 Starts), Will Grier (7,354 YDs, 71 TDs, 22 Starts) and Davis Webb (4,295 YDs, 37 TDs, 12 Starts) — which bodes well for what the Spavital-Lagway pairing can do next fall in McLane Stadium.

Despite how hard the last six months have been for the Baylor football program, the addition of Lagway at least offers some hope and excitement for next season and gives the fanbase something to rally and put their arms around, which you can’t really put a price on.

And if you’re wondering whether Lagway will bring the Bears back to 2014, 2019 or 2021 levels of success next fall, it’s way too early to say, but for now, let’s just enjoy the moment and see where the road takes us.