Baylor · Big 12DJ Lagway joins Baylor and enters quarterback competition
The former five-star Florida quarterback brings 12 starts and a 16-to-14 touchdown-to-interception line to Baylor’s 2026 opener at Auburn.
SEP 5, 2026
The Pate State · Editorial IllustrationBaylor’s 2025 record
Lagway’s 2025 passing line
Lagway’s Florida starts in 2025
01 · The NewsLagway heads to Baylor
Former Florida quarterback DJ Lagway has transferred to Baylor, which was scheduled to open the 2026 season at Auburn on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 3:30 p.m. ET with the former five-star recruit’s place in the Bears’ quarterback competition unresolved.
Lagway gives Baylor a potential reset at a position that needs one. He started 12 games for Florida in 2025 and threw 16 touchdown passes against 14 interceptions, an uneven line for a player once expected to break out as a sophomore.
Baylor has not established that Lagway will start the opener, and the available reporting does not detail the rest of the quarterback competition. That leaves his role unsettled, but not his immediate importance: Auburn is the first game on Baylor’s verified 2026 schedule, not a distant checkpoint after a month of easier auditions.
The move also carries a clear Texas angle. Lagway is from Willis, Texas, and the 6-foot-3 quarterback is returning to the state after Florida’s 4-8 season. Baylor finished one game better overall and one game better in conference play, but its 5-7 record still leaves Aranda looking for a way forward.
Lagway arrives with 12 starts and the pedigree of a former five-star recruit, but his 2025 production keeps the competition from being a ceremonial handoff. Baylor has added the player Florida once expected to break out. Now Lagway has to turn that old expectation into the next decision in Waco.
02 · The StakesThe Stakes
Baylor is betting that the talent behind Lagway’s recruiting profile can produce steadier quarterback play and help coach Dave Aranda move the Bears beyond their 5-7 finish in 2025. Baylor went 3-6 in Big 12 play; Florida finished 4-8 overall and 2-6 in the SEC. The transfer changes the question from whether Lagway can live up to his billing to whether he can win Baylor’s job quickly enough for Auburn.
“The transfer changes the question from whether Lagway can live up to his billing to whether he can win Baylor’s job quickly enough for Auburn.”
From the story03 · The Watch ListWhat We're Watching
Who wins the job?
Baylor has not established that Lagway will start the opener, so the quarterback competition remains unsettled.
Does the production steady?
Lagway’s 16 touchdown passes against 14 interceptions in 2025 will show whether the former five-star recruit can produce steadier quarterback play.