DeSoto football coach Claude Mathis has watched and coached against many great quarterbacks in 16 years on the sideline.
He has no doubt Willis senior quarterback D.J. Lagway will be right up there with them.
“He’s one of the best quarterbacks we’re going to see,” Mathis said. “I’m impressed with that young man. He’s a heck of an athlete.”
Willis and Lagway play DeSoto and Mathis in a Region II-Class 6A Division II semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Willis is 12-0. DeSoto, the reigning Class 6A-Division II state champion, is 11-0.
DeSoto is ranked No. 2 in Class 6A in the state. Willis is ranked No. 14. The Eagles would appear to be the heavy favorite.
But Lagway, a Class of 2024 five-star recruit and University of Florida commit, is the type of game-changer Mathis is wary of.
“He makes that offense go,” Mathis said. “He’s the dude behind everything.”
Lagway is the linchpin of Willis’ best season in 61 years.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pounder has completed 73.9 percent of his passes for 4,269 yards and 56 touchdowns to eight interceptions. He has rushed 84 times for 845 yards and 15 touchdowns.
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Lagway is two touchdown passes away from owning the state’s Class 6A single-season record. The current mark is 57, set by Garland’s Cergio Perez in 2021. The record, regardless of classification, is Levelland’s Nic Gerber with 77 in 2016.
As early as August preseason workouts, Lagway noted how comfortable he felt.
“I feel like I know everything,” Lagway said at the time. “It’s like playing a video game out there.”
That came from intense preparation in the spring with Willis coach Trent Miller and coaches at Florida, a lot of work in the film room and around the chalkboard studying protections and defenses.
“Learning the weaknesses of different coverages and fine-tuning all that,” Lagway said. “Knowing where the pressure is at, where I’m ‘hot’ at and where my linemen are or are not going to be.”
Lagway has a plethora of weapons, headlined by four-star sophomore receiver Jermaine Bishop Jr. and three-star senior receiver DeBraun Hampton, and expertly exploits the talent at his disposal week in and week out.
He is averaging 11.9 yards per pass attempt, a considerable mark when compared to other top Greater Houston area quarterbacks in the Class of 2024, like The Woodlands’ Wisconsin commit Mabrey Mettauer (11.1) and Cy-Fair’s Texas commit Trey Owens (10.9).
Among other top quarterbacks in the state for the Class of 2024, such as Aledo’s TCU commit Hauss Hejny, Frisco Emerson’s Oklahoma commit Michael Hawkins Jr., Hutto’s Texas Tech commit William Hammond, Midland Legacy’s Purdue commit Marcos Davila and Austin Vandegrift’s Louisville commit Deuce Adams, Lagway leads all in completion percentage (the next closest is Mettauer’s 72.8), touchdown passes (the next closest is Hammonds’ 35), and is third in yards per pass attempt behind Hawkins’ 12.4 and Hejny’s 12.2.
Lagway averages a touchdown every 6.4 pass attempts. That is the second-best mark behind Hawkins’ 5.6.
But above all, even the 7:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio Lagway boasts, Mathis said it’s leadership that makes the biggest impression.
“I think what makes him really, really good is he controls the offense,” Mathis said. “That has something to do with him and his leadership. Before I look at anything else, I think he’s a good leader. He commands control.”
Miller raves about his star’s football IQ.
Lagway is always in the film room. In the offseason, he never passed up an opportunity to throw to receivers, developing relationships and chemistry that paid off in a big way.
Because of his diligence in the spring and summer, Lagway’s understanding of defenses is superior to almost all of his peers.
“He’s so good with his hard counts and changing the snap counts to bait them into showing where the blitz is coming from,” Miller said. “He’s good enough to see that, to slide the protection or check into a quarterback-run play that puts us in the best situation to be successful.”
Miller said he has been amazed how Lagway finds a way to elevate his game every week.
The bigger the moment, the bigger Lagway plays.
That comes from a desire to be the greatest. Not just great. The greatest.
“He’s always said that his goal is not to be a Division I college football player or a first-round draft pick. His goal is to be the best player that ever touches that football field,” Miller said. “That’s how he works daily. Being a starting quarterback at an SEC school isn’t enough. He wants to be a Heisman trophy winner. Being the first pick in the NFL draft in 20-whatever isn’t good enough. He wants to be the greatest quarterback to ever play the game; he wants to be a Hall of Famer. Those are his goals.
“Nothing is ever good enough for him, and he’s always pushing himself to be something better than what he currently is. That work ethic and mentality separates himself from 99.9 percent of the kids that are out there playing football.”
Lagway can make any and every throw. He credits his arm talent to playing baseball growing up. He has power, touch and accuracy. He can scramble and make something out of nothing.
One particular viral moment against The Woodlands in Week 10 perfectly showcased his arm and legs. Lagway scrambled to his right before abruptly delivering a 50-yard on-point dart to Bishop in the end zone while off-balance on the move.
The throw was incredible. The footwork and agility even more so.
Still, Lagway hears the negative social media talk. The doubts and naysayers. He keeps it to himself but he does absorb it.
“Well, he’s this, but …” or, “He can do this, but …”
He is proof people will find a way to knock down anyone. No matter the rankings, stats or records. Insecurity is ugly. Especially toward kids doing what they love to do at an incredibly high level.
The Woodlands, arguably Willis’ first true test of the season, was supposed to humble Lagway, the keyboard warriors said. All he did was complete 31 of 36 passes for 384 yards and four touchdowns to one interception, and rush for 211 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries.
Oak Ridge and its vaunted defense, headlined by a pair of five-star Georgia commits, were supposed to take down Lagway and Willis once and for all in Week 11. Lagway completed 30 of 42 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns to an interception, while rushing for 88 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries.
“Anytime we’ve gotten ourselves in one of those big-game matchups, he’s exceeded everyone’s expectations,” Miller said. “Now it’s like, now what are you going to say?
“I think what people will see from him Friday night, knowing what he’s got in front of him from DeSoto’s defense … I think he’s going to elevate his game even more and shock a lot of people.”
