'The Florida Gator environment:' With many recruits in attendance, Florida football puts on show vs. LSU

DJ Lagway took 90,000 breaths away Saturday.

With the ball at the LSU 37, the freshman QB scrambled, stepped up and fired a perfect ball to Elijah Badger at the 1-yard line. The next play, UF took the lead for good.

The play displayed the tantalizing abilities of Lagway, making his return from a a hamstring injury. It showed that he has the talent to change the course of Florida football.

It wasn’t just the grinning fans who noticed. It was a plethora of recruits in south end zone.

Florida hosted many recruits for visits for Saturday’s 27-16 home win over No. 22 LSU. That included five-star offensive lineman Soloman Thomas from Jacksonville and five-star safety DJ Pickett from Zephyrhills.

Thomas and Pickett have committed to other schools – Thomas to FSU, Pickett to, ironically, LSU.

That means the Gators must change their minds by Dec. 4, when the early signing period begins for the Class of 2025.

The recruits saw a UF team that is making strides on defense and features the best freshman QB in the country.

Coach Billy Napier said that when Florida committed members of the Class of 2024, he admitted a challenge would come.

“If we're going to rebuild this place and create a championship contender, it will be rocky at times and you've got to be a tough guy and you've got to be up for the challenge,” Napier said.

That message worked, and UF reeled in the No. 13 class in the country.

This cycle? Not so much. Florida’s Class of 2025 ranks 44^th in the nation, hence the push to flip some recruits.

Lagway believed in Napier’s vision the whole time and remained committed to Florida, despite the Gators lackluster record compared to the other programs recruiting him.

He offered his pitch to recruits postgame.

“I've got the best fan base in the country. We've got coaches that care. That's going to develop you, make you a better player and person on and off the field,” Lagway said.

The QB approves of UF’s current plan, offering praise on Instagram when athletic director Scott Stricklin announced Napier would be sticking around.

“It meant a lot,” Lagway said of Stricklin’s decision. “Having the guys rally behind him, like we’re going to change this. That’s the whole vibe of the locker room, that we’re going to change this place.”

Stricklin's declaration also caught the eye of recruits.

"I feel like on a recruiting standpoint, I felt it was huge as well," Lagway said. "I had a lot of guys hit me up after they've seen that, texting me, trying to see what's going on."

Badger has developed a nice connection with Lagway. The Arizona State transfer has three games this season with over 100 yards receiving. All three occurred with Lagway under center.

His latest was Saturday, where he caught six passes for 131 yards.

Considering this, Badger included Lagway in his pitch to recruits.

“This is a great environment and playing for a great quarterback. A great quarterback. Just a great environment to play in. The Florida Gator environment,” Badger said.

On defense, Florida recovered from its one game interruption and continued its steady rise.

The Gators have held opponents to under 24 points in four games of their last six games.

Last season, that happened only twice vs. Power 4 schools.

“That was a true Gator defense, Gator game from offense and defense, special teams,” said edge rusher George Gumbs Jr.

Fellow edge Tyreak Sapp said the victory validates Florida's resilience.

“As soon as you wave that white flag, that's when you let it all go, and you let yourself go, and then you let your brothers down,” Sapp said. “That's one thing I always pride myself on, never letting my brothers down, no matter what happens.”

Florida and No. 11 Ole Miss kick off from the Swamp Saturday at noon on ABC.

Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at [email protected] and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.