Jake Spavital Believes DJ Lagway Can Be Special: ‘He Gives Hope to Us’

Throughout his nearly two-decade coaching career, offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, 41, has worked with quarterbacks such as Johnny Manziel, Case Keenum, Geno Smith, Kyler Murray and Fernando Mendoza, to name a few. But as he enters his third season in Waco, Spavital didn’t hesitate to put Florida transfer DJ Lagway in that same conversation.

“When he plays confident, I think he’s one of the best quarterbacks I’ve seen,” Spavital said when asked about Lagway in his Thursday press conference. “I want to make sure that he is as confident as possible going into the first game of the season. For me, that [means] keep building and working with him and taking daily steps to stack days.”

Lagway was a five-star prospect coming out of Willis High School and the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class. His talent has never been in question, but Spavital has also worked with enough high-level quarterbacks to know what separates the good ones from the great ones. So what does Lagway possess that warrants such high praise?

“He gives hope to us,” Spavital said. “I think the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, there’s no question, it’s the confidence that we have in them, that he’s going to go make that game-winning drive, go make that play. I just believe that [DJ] gives everybody hope and confidence around here that we can go out there and execute at an extremely high level.”

To help prepare for Baylor’s season-opener against Auburn on Sept. 5, Spavital is trying to throw the kitchen sink at Lagway, but has been impressed by his poise and his ability to elevate those around him.

“I’m trying to put him in so many uncomfortable positions to see what he’s capable of doing, and he’s handling it well,” Spavital said. “I love his command, his presence, his communication, and every day we’re getting more comfortable.”

Spavital continued, “He’s a very competitive person from what I’ve seen. If he’s frustrated with the play, I give him the freedom, and he’ll check it right back to prove he can do it. That’s what I love about him is that competitive fire that he has to go out there and just play free and know that we’ve got his back.”

Following an unceremonious ending to his two-year tenure at Florida, which included a rocky sophomore campaign and the firing of head coach Billy Napier, Lagway has been searching for a place where he can be himself and have fun playing football again, and he seems to have found that at Baylor, his father’s alma mater.

“I’ve played a lot of football, seen a lot of good, seen a lot of bad, so I know what to expect, sorta, kinda,” Lagway said. “Going out there and just having fun — that’s the biggest thing, and that’s what I always try to talk to my guys about. Just going out there, having fun and playing free.”

Head coach Dave Aranda recently likened Lagway’s situation in Gainesville to wearing a “straitjacket.” For Lagway, being in Waco has allowed him to get to know his teammates on a deeper level, something he plans to continue working on throughout fall camp.

“My goals this camp are just really connect closer with my guys and just find my process for the season and things like that,” Lagway said. “Just get closer with them, build chemistry with the receivers even more, and continue to connect with the guys.”

On the field, Lagway is continuing to adjust to playing in Spavital’s air-raid scheme, but it’s something he has plenty of familiarity with, dating back to his time at Willis High School. He’s also excited to be back in a scheme where there are loads of opportunities for fireworks and big plays.

“I’d say the toughest part is just seeing how he wants it,” Lagway noted of working with Spavital. “He’s throwing a lot at us. The fun part is getting to rep different things, seeing what you like and what you don’t like, and I feel like it’s been great.”

As for the competition for the backup quarterback spot behind Lagway, Nate Bennett likely has the upper hand, given that it’s his third year in the system and that he possesses “great arm talent,” according to Spavital. That doesn’t make it a sure thing, however, as sophomore Edward Griffin and four-star freshman Quinn Murphy have looked impressive as well.

“It’s a battle — Nate, Ed and Quinn, all three of them have had their moments,” Spavital said. “It gets tough repping them evenly, so you can’t make that decision until you get more of a resume built on all of them.”

He continued, “I already know what Nate can do, and Ed can do, but you’ve got to give Quinn the opportunity to go out there and play. Quinn’s a very talented individual. He’s one of the faster guys on our team. His game is a little bit different than everybody else’s, but it’s fun watching all these guys put it together out there and have their little spin on the offense. It’s a great competition between those three right now.”

Although Lagway is the clear-cut starting signal-caller, Spavital allows the backup quarterbacks to get reps with the other starters and gives them the freedom to command the offense.

“It’s pretty cool to just see him with whichever quarterback’s in the game, and we all have different strengths,” Bennett said of working with Spavital. “So it’s like, ‘Okay, what do you like here? You run the offense. The keys are in your hands.’ Then the receivers we got, it’s okay if you’re with the twos, the threes, the ones. It’s like, okay, there are different skill sets, so it’s matchup-based, right? There might be a wrong answer for one group that’s the right answer for the other.”

The California native says he’s the most comfortable he’s ever been and jokes that he can pretty much call the offense from the sideline, considering all the time he’s spent learning how Spavital likes to operate.

“He’s a genius,” Bennett said of Spavital. “He does it at the highest level. I’m just blessed to be under him, and it’s pretty cool to see. It’s almost like a puzzle. Each day you’re putting another piece in, and you’ve got a month till the season. At the pace we’re going — we had our best offensive day today — it’s like we’re gonna be pretty dang good. That’s encouraging. He’s a wizard with that stuff. It’s so fun to watch. He’s a player’s coach.”

In other news, pertaining to the offensive side of the ball, Spavital also spoke incredibly highly about his stable of running backs — Dawson Pendergrass, Caden Knighten, Michael Turner, Ryelan Morris and Jacorey Watson — and talked about the challenge of finding ways to get all of them in on the action this fall.

“We’ve got a lot of great running backs,” the third-year play-caller said. “We have four or five kids that you’re extremely confident in, but how do you get them all on the field? That’s when you start to package things. That’s when you start to get creative, throw these wrinkles at them, see if it sticks and see if it’s going to be an efficient thing for us.”

Bennett took Spavital’s comments one step further, saying he believes this is the deepest running back room the Bears have had in his three-year tenure, and noted how the experience that Knighten (115 touches, 603 all-purpose yards) and Turner (71 touches, 341 yards) got last year as true freshmen has proven valuable throughout the offseason and fall camp.

“Dawson was hurt last year, but his leadership is pretty incredible; he’s elevated everyone else around him,” Bennett said. “Then, we’ve got Mike coming back, Caden coming back, and those guys have grown so much. Whether it’s running in between the tackles or learning protection, it’s like they’re veterans now. When you’re forced to play at a younger age, that accelerates your maturity and accelerates your growth.”

At wide receiver, Spavital mentioned that there’s a group of eight players that he’s confident in, with fifth-year senior Louis Brown IV eliciting the most praise. Brown IV was expected to be a major piece last season, but ended up redshirting after catching six passes in four games.

“Louis Brown is looking great,” Spavital said. “Lou’s looking awesome right now. We’re still challenging him. Coach Baker challenges him every single day. He was making some great contested plays today, and he’s a guy who has the ability. When he’s on, and that ball’s in the vicinity of him, he can take a game over. I’m really pleased with his effort right now. We still have to take a lot of strides and build that continuity with DJ.”