Florida
Gasparilla Bowl another chance for Florida football offense to grow under freshman QB DJ Lagway
Watch Steve Russell at work.
Russell is retiring from Florida this week and will host his final Sportscene show, for now, after a 26-year run. There’s a chance that Russell could return to the airwaves in some form after a six-month, state-mandated grace period.
TAMPA ― Each game presents another step in the growth of Florida football freshman quarterback DJ Lagway.
When the Florida Gators face Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl on Friday at Raymond James Stadium (3:30 p.m., ESPN2), it’ll be another chance for the 6-foot-3, 239-pound Lagway to command an improving UF offense.
Call it a final exam for Lagway, who improved to 5-1 as a starter after leading the Gators to a 31-11 win over FSU to close the regular season in his last start on Nov. 30.
“We were a little rusty the last go-around, so I do think there’s another level there,” Florida football coach Billy Napier said. “But you know balance, good situational football and then obviously keep DJ clean and play well around him, we’ve got to get good play in every position around him, so, we know what winning football looks like that’s what we’re going to do.”
Lagway went 14 for 22 for 133 yards with two TDs and an interception in his last outing against the Seminoles but was victimized by a few drops on an unseasonably cold night.
“Playing quarterback is sometimes like playing golf,” Florida co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Russ Callaway said. “Every now and then you’re going to hit a bad shot, and sometimes when you move maybe your feet are not quite on balance the way they’re supposed to be.
“Yeah, we’ve done a really good job of preparing this bowl prep of pocket movement, and he already does that anyway, but it’s one of those things it wasn’t his best in that area but he’s been really good throughout the course of the year and he’s only going to continue to get better.”
Why DJ Lagway has excelled as the Florida football starting QB
From Lagway’s first career start against Samford, when he connected on six pass plays of 30 yards or more, he’s demonstrated the ability to throw deep balls with accuracy. Enrolling in January helped Lagway learn the intricacies of playing quarterback at the college level. Napier said Lagway has grown immeasurably in that area.
“He’s a more advanced player,” Napier said. “He understands, fronts, pressures, coverages, how his concept marries up to what defensive concept we’re getting, just kind of knows the problems and can kind of get ahead of that.”
Callaway said Lagway’s football IQ allowed the staff to feel comfortable expanding the playbook as the season progressed.
“He’s one of the rare guys at an early age has been hungry and has this laser-like focus and knows what he wants to accomplish,” Callaway said. “He doesn’t just talk about it, he does it.”
An example, Callaway said, is the time Lagway spends at the Heavener Center, studying film.
“You’ll go up there multiple times throughout the weekend, early in the morning, late at night, you’re not surprised to see that guy up there,” Callaway said. “That’s why he’s having success.”
How the Florida football offense can evolve under DJ Lagway
Callaway said the key is to continue to play to Lagway’s strengths. When Lagway suffered a hamstring pull against Georgia that forced him to sit out the following game against Texas, it limited his dual-threat ability for the remainder of the regular season. But with more time to heal, it’s an aspect of his game that he could either showcase against Tulane or keep under wraps for his sophomore season.
“He’s exceeded our expectations, not just from a physical standpoint but from a mental standpoint,” Callaway said. “His strengths are obviously the deep ball accuracy. He can move with his legs, he has been incredible in the pocket so we’ve got to do a good job of setting up the run, mix in movements every now and then with him and let him throw it deep when we’ve got one-on-one and hopefully our guys can come down with it.”
As to whether Florida could open up the offense with four or five-wide receiver formations with Lagway in the future, Callaway said: “It’s something we can definitely do. Again, I think it goes back to the best 11 that you’ve got, the best 11, if it’s four tight ends, if it’s four wide receivers, whoever it is it’s your job as an offensive coach to get the best 11 on the field and get the guys who make plays consistently, get them the ball.”
With All-American center Jake Slaughter and left tackle Austin Barber announcing their decisions to return to UF next season, Florida will boast an experienced offensive line with four returning starters to protect Lagway and help establish the run.
“DJ is a very good player and we’ve got veteran guys coming back,” Barber said. “He’s had a year under his belt with him growing and developing. I’m just really excited about that.”
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
Florida
Florida college Republicans group chat reveals racist texts: ‘Avoid the coloreds like the plague’
It only took three weeks for a group chat for conservative students at Florida International University (FIU) to become a place where participants eagerly used racist slurs, prompting widespread condemnation from community leaders.
Abel Alexander Carvajal, secretary of Miami-Dade county’s Republican party and a student at FIU’s College of Law, reportedly started the chat after the killing of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, in September 2025.
But on Wednesday, the Miami Herald published leaked WhatsApp conversations in which the college Republicans made racist, sexist, antisemitic and homophobic comments, including variations of the N-word used more than 400 times. Knowledge of the chat’s existence was revealed on the same day that Republican lawmakers in Florida pushed forward a bill to rename a one-mile stretch of road alongside FIU in honor of Kirk.
William Bejerano, who the Herald noted once tried to start an anti-abortion group at Miami Dade College, was the most prolific user of the N-word. Using the slur, Bejerano called for dozens of acts of extreme violence against Black people, including crucifying, beheading and dissecting.
Dariel Gonzalez, then the College Republicans’ recruitment chair, who has recently applied to become a GOP committee member, responded to the calls for violence by saying: “How edgy.” He repeatedly used “colored” to describe Black people, including writing: “Ew you had colored professors?!” and “Avoid the coloreds like the plague,” according to the Herald.
Carvajal, who was appointed to a two-year role on the city of Hialeah’s planning and zoning board earlier this year, confirmed to the paper that the group chat was his doing, but he denied knowledge of the problematic comments until the publication contacted him about its logs last week.
“It’s been five months since this was sent and this is the first time I’ve seen this message,” Carvajal told the Herald.
“I guess to an extent, I bear some responsibility, cause I created a chat. But if I had seen this at the moment, I would have removed [Bejerano] from the chat. I probably would have even blocked his number.”
The Herald found that Carvajal had deleted 14 messages sent by other participants in the chat and 42 of his own messages before the publication obtained the chat’s logs.
He also participated in some of the racist discussions. While referring to a Black student who allegedly left FIU’s College Republicans after a member of the group “called her a [N-word]”, the Floridian reported that Carvajal wrote: “Why didn’t miggress leave?” Elsewhere in the chat, the publication reported that Carvajal used “Miggress”, “Migglet” and “Migger” to refer to Black women, Black children and Black people, in general.
At one point, Gonzalez wrote: “You can fuck all the [K-word, a slur for Jewish people] you want. Just don’t marry them and procreate.”
Ian Valdes, the Turning Point USA FIU chapter president, responded, “I would def not marry a Jew,” before changing the group chat’s name from “Uber [R-word slur for disabled people] Yapping” to “Gooning in Agartha”. “Gooning” is a gen-Z slang term for male masturbation, while “Agartha” is a mythical white civilization promoted by Heinrich Himmler, one of the most powerful leaders in Nazi Germany next to Hitler.
Gonzalez reportedly described Agartha to the group chat as “Nazi heaven sort of”.
Kevin Cooper, the first Jewish chair of the Miami Dade Republican party, condemned the group chat in a statement published to X and called for Carvajal’s resignation.
“The majority of our board voted to request Carvajal’s resignation. We have commenced removal proceedings and look forward to resolution from the Republican Party of Florida,” he wrote.
That call was echoed by Juan Porras, a Republican state representative and Miami-Dade GOP state committee member, who said in a statement: “Leadership carries responsibility. When someone in a leadership role engages in this kind of behavior, it damages the trust placed in our party by voters across Florida. For that reason, I am asking the Miami Dade Republican party secretary to step down from this position.”
In a joint statement, Florida Republican state senators Alexis Calatayud, Ileana Garcia and Ana Maria Rodriguez denounced the chats and called for the expulsion from party leadership of its participants.
“The individuals in the group chat have exposed how profoundly misaligned their beliefs are to the views of the Republican party of Florida,” their statement said. “We call for the immediate expulsion of the individuals disseminating from any level of leadership of the Miami-Dade Republican Party … We will not tolerate bigotry or discrimination.”
Multiple leaked group chats from young Republicans have created controversy in recent years.
Last year, Politico published messages from a group chat of more than 100 conservatives across the country in which users also made racist and antisemitic comments. In 2022, a Young Republican group chat from North Dakota was revealed as a cesspool of homophobic and antisemitic rhetoric.
Florida
Federal judge blocks DeSantis executive order declaring CAIR a 'terrorist organization'
Florida
Gas prices rise in South Florida amid U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran, as the stock market also reports a dip
Four days into the Iranian conflict, gas prices are rising at many stations in South Florida.
“I’ve traveled all over the United States,” says Stacey Williams. CBS Miami spoke to him as he was gassing up on the turnpike. He paid $66 for 20 gallons of diesel to fill his pickup truck. Williams has noted the fluctuations in fuel as he drives to locations for his work on turbines. He just spent three weeks at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant south of Miami.
“The salary we get paid per hour does not add up to what we pay for gas, housing, and food,” he says.
Mitchell Gershon is also dealing with the higher gas prices. He has to fill three vehicles constantly for his business—Thrifty Gypsy, a pop-up store at musical venues. He’s back and forth from Orlando to Miami and says fuel is costing him 20% more. When asked how he handles these fluctuations, he said, “Have a little backup cash so you are ready for it.”
The rise in oil prices contributed to a drop in the stock market on Tuesday, which means some retirement accounts dipped, too. CBS Miami talked to Chad NeSmith, director of investments at Tobias Financial Advisors in Plantation, for perspective on the drop.
“We are seeing most of the pullback today. Yesterday was a shock,” he says. He’s not expecting runaway oil prices but says investors should stay in the loop: “Pay attention to your portfolio. Stick to your goals. Have a plan because these things are completely unpredictable.”
That unpredictability has Williams adjusting his budget. “You just cut back, cut corners, all you can do,” he says.
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