Florida football freshman quarterback DJ Lagway has taken limited reps in practice this week and is listed as questionable on the SEC availability report for the Florida Gators game Saturday at No. 5 Texas (noon, ABC)

Lagway was carted off the field with a hamstring pull during the second quarter of UF’s 38-20 loss to Georgia on Saturday in Jacksonville.

“He’s trying,” Florida football coach Billy Napier said. “He’s a competitor. You think about him, he’s going back to his home state. He wants to try to find a pathway to make this work. Obviously, it’s touch and go.”

A native of Willis, Texas, Lagway earned Gatorade High School Player of the Year honors at UF, where he’s made an impact as a true freshman. The 6-foot-3, 239-pound Lagway took over as UF’s starting quarterback when Graham Mertz went down with a torn ACL on Oct. 13 at Tennessee and has passed for 1,071 yards on the season with six TDs to five interceptions.

If Lagway can’t go, Florida will turn to third-string quarterback Aidan Warner, who went 7-for-22 for 66 yards and an inteception in relief of Lagway against the Bulldogs.

“He’s gotten a little more comfortable,” Napier said of Warner. “He’s obviously taking a few more reps than he normally does.”

Also listed as questionable on the SEC availability report are running back Montrell Johnson Jr., who has been out since Oct. 13 with a leg injury, and cornerback Dijon Johnson, who left the game against Georgia in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury.

Starting cornerbacks Jason Marshall Jr. (shoulder) and Devin Moore (knee) both have been ruled out for the Texas game.

Florida football WR Eugene Wilson shelved for the rest of the season

Florida wide receiver Eugene Wilson will sit out the remainder of the 2024 season after undergoing surgery this week.

“It’s a genetic hip issue that got to a point to where we had to clean it up,” Napier said. “So, we exhausted all resources. You know, he’s been in and out of the lineup. Can take a few days off, feel like a million bucks then can go work really hard and have to sit back. I think we made the best decision in his long-term career.”

The 5-foot-10, 181-pound Wilson, who was expected to be a playmaking threat in UF’s offense this season, finished the year with 19 catches for 266 yards and a TD. By appearing in just four games, Wilson could take a redshirt in 2024 and return to UF as a redshirt sophomore with three more years of eligibility. Napier said the recovery time for the surgery is four months.

“They got to the root of the problem, and we sent him to Chicago probably 10 days ago to see the best hip doctor in the country,” Napier said. “Got done everything we could do to try to help him.”

Also, according to a report from Swamp 247Sports, running back Treyaun Webb underwent surgery to repair a fractured tibia and will miss the rest of the 2024 season. Like Wilson, Webb appeared in just four games and can take 2024 as a redshirt year.

Florida football availability report

Out

— CB Ja’Keem Jackson

— CB Jason Marshall Jr.

— CB Devin Moore

— WR Eugene Wilson III

— WR Kahleil Jackson

— RB Treyaun Webb

— QB Graham Mertz

— S Asa Turner

— OL Devon Manuel

— DL Jamari Lyons

Questionable

— QB DJ Lagway

— RB Montrell Johnson Jr.

— WR Elijhah Badger

— CB Dijon Johnson

— OL Dameion George Jr.

— DL Cam Jackson

Texas football availability report

Out

— DB Derek Williams Jr.

— RB CJ Baxter

— RB Christian Clark

— RB Velton Gardner

— DL Vernon Broughton (first half)

Questionable

— DB Andrew Makuba

— DE Colton Vasek

Probable

— WR Isaiah Bond

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1

ORLANDO, Fla. — One of two Democratic state attorneys in Florida who Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis removed from office in what opponents say were political moves won back their old job from voters.

In the Orlando area, Democrat Monique Worrell on Tuesday defeated Andrew Bain, the candidate DeSantis had replaced Worrell with last year and who was running without party affiliation. In the Tampa area, Andrew Warren, who DeSantis removed in 2022, conceded to Suzy Lopez, the Republican DeSantis had picked to replace the Democrat.

DeSantis claimed Worrell failed to prosecute crimes committed by minors and didn’t seek mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes, putting the public in danger in her central Florida district. She disputed his claims as false and politically driven.

Speaking before supporters Tuesday night, Worrell dedicated the victory to her father who died unexpectedly last June. “Before he took his last breath, he told me, ‘Go get your seat back,’” she said.

“I want to thank the voters for standing with me and saying, ‘We don’t believe you Ron DeSantis,’” Worrell said.

DeSantis removed Warren over his signing of pledges that he would not pursue criminal charges against seekers or providers of abortion or gender transition treatments as well as his policies on not bringing charges for certain low-level crimes.

“I’m proud of the race we ran,” Warren said in a statement Tuesday night. “The best candidate doesn’t always win, especially when the other side cheats — illegally suspending you, then spending millions of dollars lying about you.”

The governor’s office on Wednesday didn’t immediately respond to an email inquiry.

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Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform X: @MikeSchneiderAP.

TAMPA, Fla. – Hurricane Rafael has strengthened into a Category 2 storm as it heads toward Cuba, where landfall is expected Wednesday before moving into the Gulf of Mexico.

As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, Rafael was located at 21.0N and 81.6W with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles an hour, moving northwest at 14 miles an hour.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Rafael will pass through western Cuba on Wednesday as a Category 2 storm.

The NHC says the storm will also bring heavy rain to portions of the western Caribbean, including Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, through early Thursday.

Where will Rafael go once it reaches the Gulf?

Models have shifted west, indicating that Rafael will turn far away from Florida’s Gulf coast in the coming days.

A tropical storm warning is in effect, however, for the Florida Keys, where some storm impacts are expected Wednesday and early Thursday.

Models are divided on whether Rafael will head north toward the U.S. Gulf coast, or turn south toward Mexico.

As the storm moves through the Gulf, it’s expected to weaken because of cooler water temperatures and increased wind shear.

FOX 13 Meteorologist Jim Weber says it remains to be seen whether Rafael will make landfall in the U.S., or turn south toward Mexico.

“We may see some big adjustments to the forecast track as we go through the day,” Weber said.

Weber says the Tampa Bay area will see cloudy skies and scattered showers Wednesday and Thursday, with most of Florida’s storm impacts staying to the south.

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