What are you looking forward to this season?
I’m excited just to go out there, compete with my teammates, create bonds with those guys and learn a lot from my coaches. I just want to win. That’s my biggest thing. That’s my goal, and that’s all of my teammates’ goals.
My biggest personal goal is to go out there and win a Big 12 championship.
Why did you choose to come to Baylor?
I would say, really, why I chose to come here is everything aligned with my goals — hearing Coach (Dave) Aranda, (offensive coordinator) Coach (Jake) Spavital, and just talking with them, and seeing how everything aligned with my vision and my goals, and seeing the players. My biggest thing going through the process is I wanted to watch all the guys that were going to be out there playing, and I even sat down with (defensive coordinator) Coach (Joe) Klanderman and watched the defensive guys that are going to be here and that were already here. I believe that we can do something special with the guys that we have.
Your teammates voted you as team captain before even playing a game with you. What does that mean to you?
Man, that means the world to me. That’s just saying that my teammates have so much respect for me. And that was my biggest thing coming in. I just wanted to gain the respect of the guys and come in with my head down and work hard, and show them that I’m all about the work.
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, or The Swamp, at Florida seats 88,548. What’s it like to have that many people cheering for you after a big play?
It’s an awesome feeling. I’ve experienced both. I’ve had people cheering and people also booing. You can’t really get too high and too low, especially at the quarterback position. It’s a developmental game and [there are] so many highs and lows in a game. You could play good for three quarters and play terrible in a fourth quarter. That’s a bad game. So, we’re just taking it one play at a time.
What I love about Coach Aranda, one of his biggest sayings, is going 1-and-0. You can take that in any different life scenario outside of football, but in football, it’s one play at a time, trying to win that rep, win that rep and just going one play at a time.
You’ve said you want to play in the NFL after college. What would you like to do after your football career is over?
I want to build some training sports complexes across the country that give kids the ability to use high-end equipment in poverty areas, to be able to use the equipment to further their athletic talents. That’s my dream. I love fitness and sports, so I want to be able to help people that aren’t as fortunate as others to reach their goals also.
In 2014, my son Brazos helped me interview Bryce Petty, who was going to be Baylor’s starting quarterback that season. These are two questions that Brazos asked Bryce. First, who’s your favorite superhero?
My favorite superhero, I would say, is Spider-Man. I just look at him trying to balance being a kid and also being a superhero. I thought that was pretty cool, being himself in both ways, but also using that to his strength. He’s always just a quirky kid. He was always himself but also having to play both sides.
Second question from Brazos, which I thought was a really good question: How good are you?
I feel like I’m as good as I want to be, you know. I feel like I’ve put a lot of preparation in this offseason. This has probably been one of the best offseasons I’ve ever had in my whole career. I’m excited to go out there and put it all on the line and play free and have fun with my teammates.
What has made it your best offseason?
Just being healthy. That played a big part, having a healthy summer, healthy spring and winter training, healthy throughout the whole process. And really fine-tuning things I’ve been needing to work on for years. And now having the time to sit back and work through different things that I’ve been needing to clean up. I’m excited to go out there and show it to the world.
What would you want fans to know about you?
I’m just a normal kid, just trying to figure out life and trying to continue to grow in my faith. I’m just a kid that loves football, just somebody that stays out the way and wants to play football, wants to get better at the game continue to grow at it because it’s a fun sport and I just want to continue to have fun.
Why is your faith important to you?
Man, my faith is huge to me because it carries me throughout my life. There were times where I didn’t even know how I made it out of situations, on and off the field. God provided and I’m thankful, truly thankful for God and I’m thankful for everything He’s done for me and my family.
DJ Lagway is the projected starting quarterback for the Baylor Bears. The team will open the season playing Auburn at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on September 5.
Lagway was tabbed the national player of the year by several organizations after he played his senior season at Willis High School, about an hour north of Houston. He was a two-year starter for the Florida Gators and was named consensus freshman All-America in 2024. He played in 24 games for the Gators, throwing for 4,179 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Lagway was tabbed the national player of the year by several organizations after he played his senior season at Willis High School, about an hour north of Houston. He was a two-year starter for the Florida Gators and was named consensus freshman All-America in 2024. He played in 24 games for the Gators, throwing for 4,179 yards and 28 touchdowns.
