With back-to-back losing seasons, the attitude around the Florida Gators football team had lacked the fervor it normally possessed heading into 2024.
Enter DJ Lagway. The highly-touted freshman Quarterback rejuvenated the excitement around the University of Florida football program, throwing for 1915 yards while leading the Gators to an 8-5 record and a win in the Gasparilla Bowl, their first bowl victory since the 2019 Orange Bowl.
Enthusiasm has spread to the UF student body. Pictures of students with Lagway have flooded social media, along with praise for the freshman Quarterback. The campus-wide love for Lagway culminated with a student-run DJ Lagway look-alike contest, held on Friday at 3 p.m. at the Plaza of the Americas.
In front of dozens of students while a continuous cycle of Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down” blasted, ten contestants dared to be a doppelgänger for the most popular athlete on campus. In a riveting competition that included thrown passes, Heisman poses and touchdown spikes, fourth-year business administration major Sam Ero emerged victorious.
“He can step up in the pocket, run, and he has a very accurate arm for a 19-year-old kid”, he said. “This has been the first winning season I’ve seen here, and Lagway really changed the culture. He changed my life.”
Multiple “DJ Lagway” chants swept through the crowd, with signs showing the students’ appreciation for Lagway scattered all over.
At the forefront of the contest was third-year public relations major Cortney Smith. Smith, along with a few of her friends, organized and ran the competition Friday.
“We heard celebrities often come to these events, so everyone’s main goal was to get DJ at this event,” Smith said. “Unfortunately he didn’t come, but hopefully our next look-alike celebrity will.”
Wherever Smith and her friends take their lookalike contest next, one thing is for certain. The Gators have found their next cornerstone athlete,and the UF student body can sense it.
Contact Josh Stevens at joshuastevens@ufl.edu. Follow him on X at @Josh_Stevens_15
