UF commit DJ Lagway's rise has been built around a strong support system

Whenever most college football fans hear a recruit use the term 'Dream School', many times it's met with eye rolls. That terms is overused at times by prospects when referring to schools. However, with the Florida Gators and prized QB commit DJ Lagway, the relationship was built on a foundation of familiarity.

Lagway had grown up a big fan of the Gators as a child, but the connection to the program was helped along in its infancy stages by his QB trainer J.P. Tillman. He's been working with Lagway since early in his high career, and runs 'Five Star General Quarterback Academy' in Texas.

"I have actually sent some quarterbacks to ULL and to Napier," Tillman said in a conversation with Swamp247. "So I was familiar with the system he runs. I had talked to DJ about some schools really early on and he told me Florida was his dream school. I had already been familiar with Coach [Billy] Napier and Coach [Ryan] O'Hara from ULL, and I am also friends with Joe Hamilton at Florida. So when DJ told me me he liked UF that much, I called Coach Joe and kind of checked what their interest would be. They came out and watched him a few times before they even offered. He visited, got offered, and the rest is history."

Tillman was able to get his hands on Lagway in the early years of his high school career. A friend connected him with the Lagway family, and Tillman quickly started doing his own research into the Willis (TX) product. The initial findings of Lagway's arm talent and build impressed Tillman. His excitement about Lagway's future grew even more after seeing the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder take to the field for the first time live. Tillman already knew Lagway was special with his arm, but it was the ability to run combined with that arm talent that blew him away.

"A friend of mine was telling me about his dad and how he has a son. He promised me if I got to working with this kid, he had a chance to be the No. 1 player in the country. I checked him out by getting on Twitter because there were some videos of him training out in Willis. I saw some thing he could work on. I mentioned to them who I was and some of the things I thought I could help him get better at. I didn't want to take him away from anyone. I just wanted to help. You see him first and you see the size he's got. He had the stature to be a powerful thrower. I saw some baseball videos of him being an insane pitcher. He was pitching through the holes in foldable chairs that they used in the drill. Just watching him throw, I thought, 'man this kid could be like Jameis Winston'. The power I saw from training him the first time was impressive, but he just needed some fine tuning like having his feet under him and the inner workings of rotations. Baseball has helped him because a lot of hitting a bat and pitching is about how you rotate. After seeing him the first time I knew this kid had a future in college football and that he could be one of the best in the country. I didn't know he could run like he does until seeing him the first game of his 10th grade season. We just worked so much on throwing, I never knew how dynamic he was as a runner. DJ had a lot of pressure coming at him, and he just took off running, breaking tackles. I already through he could be a Jameis Winston type from his throws, but after seeing him run, I thought he was Winston plus Cam Newton."

Along with Tillman and the high school coaches at Willis, Lagway has also had a strong support system within his household. DJ's father, Derek Lagway Sr. played running back for the Baylor Bears from 1997-2001. He's been very involved in his sons development and is always picking Tillman's brain on things he son can do to improve. Early on in their training sessions, DJ was moving into more of a full time role as a signal caller after playing some other positions for Willis as a freshman.

"His dad would ask me all the time what my thoughts were on him. Coming out of his 9th grade year he was playing free safety, wide receiver, and quarterback. They wanted to figure out his best place and if they were making the best decision with playing quarterback. I knew he absolutely was going to be great at quarterback because of how intuitive he was. He wants to grow so much. Every day after he finished training he would call and ask me questions. Before I even saw him play, he was doing those things. I knew before seeing him play that he was going to be great because of him doing that."

The training with Lagway under Tillman has come in phases over the years. It started out as an underclassman with a lot of basic mechanic work.

"We started out preparing for him to really take the varsity position because there was a [QB] competition," Tillman recalled. "Letting him grow and mature in the offense, but also understanding coverages pre snap and post snap. Understanding what he should be looking for pre-snap to make good decisions. We hit on those first, but once we got into the season, it was more learning about situational things like down and distance. What defense are trying to take away and what they are giving you. Seeing if running is your best option, because he's such a powerful and dominate runner. Knowing the situation and the down and distance, can help you grow to be able to recognize if you need to run in those situations."

As they moved onto their training in year two, Tillman and Lagway started to focus on more intricate parts of the position. Lagway continued to excel with everything Tillman threw at him.

"His focus was improving as a passer in year two with me. He wanted to be over 65-percent completion. Trying to understand the throwing percentage with how productive the offense moves. Everything had to do with where are we putting the ball. It wasn't all in the arm, but his feel with the stability and foundation he throws with. He's not just quick and athletic, but he's also so strong in the foundation he throws from. That is why he can do a lot of the things he does with the ball. Going into his junior year I was able to see him do some elite things with the ball that I haven't seen kids his age be able to do in the 10 years I have been training quarterbacks. Each year for him has been phases. First year was really him understanding the mechanics, understanding how to get force out of the ground and use it through the body. That second year was really growing to be more accurate and have more consistency. Be one of the top ones with when you look at completion percentage."

This past season as a Junior, Lagway saw a jump in his production. He missed some time due to injury, but still was able to complete 67-percent of his passes. He also threw for 2081 yards and 24 touchdowns to only five interceptions. Along with rushing for 517 yards and another seven touchdowns. Those are impressive numbers to Tillman considering his pupil dealt with injury.

"He played in six games healthy as a junior and was hurt in two of them. He played 28 quarters as a junior and had those stats. I was actually talking to my wife about this, but his production and value can really been seen in how high of numbers he had in limited about of minutes he plays on the field. When you compare that to any other elite guys out there, you think, 'man what could this kid have done with five more games'. Because we play 16 games if you make it all the way to state in Texas. Especially when you think how many times you get a series in a quarter."

Lagway is a true dual-threat weapon for an offensive with his ability to run and pass. That ability to be such a weapon is one of the things Tillman feels is something that separates him from other arms in his class.

"How dynamic he is makes him so different from other quarterbacks in his class, which makes him so unique. There are plenty of insane throwers of the ball and have insane accuracy with how they throw the ball. In the end, why I feel like DJ could be the No. 1 player and is the No. 1 player is because of how dynamic he is with the football. Whether he's throwing it or running it. He can throw it by anyone, but he can also run by 11 people. I think it makes him deadly and makes him the ultimate weapon as a quarterback. Napier will be able to develop him in the system and his understanding of the system. As he gets ready for college and then the NFL, I think we are seeing a generational athlete who has been blessed to be in some amazing opportunities. He knows what is going on and takes full advantage of all the blessings."

While Lagway has all the talent in the world on the field, many people who know him speak even more highly of his character off the field. It's the strong foundation his family has instilled in him that brings that out of him. The younger Lagway is very involved in his community, which is something he's learned growing up around his parents.

"If you get the opportunity to know who he and his family are in Willis, you see what his family engulfs. The are passionate about the family, the community, their goals, but also their faith. It's a great family to be involved with and be a part of this journey. You don't meet too many families like the Lagways. A lot of colleges and a lot of coaches would say the same thing I think. I tell them there is nobody on the same level as his son, and if there is, I haven't seen this kid."

Having trained players who have gone onto Louisiana-Lafayette under Billy Napier, Tillman has seen firsthand what the Gators head man can do for players. Having a head coach so involved with the position made Florida an appealing destination for Lagway as well.

"He gravitated to the program from the ability to not only have a head coach who believes in him, but a head coach being a QB guru himself. Coach Napier gave Levi [Lewis] the ability to grow at ULL in the system. It fit like a glove. When you watch his ability to develop in the offenses he's been around and the coaching circle he's been around. I know the knowledge he has, but then you can supplement all that with the knowledge coach [Ryan] O'Hara has. You basically have two quarterback coaches at Florida. They were so impressed by how much DJ and I knew about their system when I visited with him last summer. Coach O'Hara made it a thing to tell coach Napier how much DJ knew."

Tillman has also been able to visit Florida with Lagway as well. He joined the family in Gainesville this past summer for their trip to Friday Night Lights last July. It was Tillman's first time seeing UF as a whole, and gave him a chance to see some of the reasons that Florida was such an intriguing destination to Lagway.

"Gainesville first off is a lot like Willis. DJ's family is big in the community. At the same time DJ has a love for his community. When I looked at Gainesville, I thought it was a lot like Willis. There's football, and there's a community that loves their team. Willis has one high school and in Gainesville, Florida is the one school there. The community embraces Florida like the city of Willis embraces their team. Everyone in the town comes out to see Willis football, and Gainesville does the same for Florida. The stage is bigger, but the kid has already gone through a lot of the same feelings and situations being the cities team. When he said Gainesville feels like home, I think he really means that. The relationship with the people there currently on staff and in the administration are strong too. That is probably the biggest thing he loves about Florida."

With Lagway now happily committed to Florida, he's able to help recruit others to join him. He's focused on his senior year at Willis this coming year, but is also doing some training work to look ahead for when he gets to Gainesville.

"I really try to get an understanding to what system fits kids, and what coaches are running even before I know what school a kid is leaning towards. I give them the best information about the school. When they tell me where they want to go, I look at the offense and understand it. We even throw some stuff in training that Florida does offensively. I want him to feel it and have his body understand the flow and feel."