He goes through the bedrooms in the Miami beach house, waking the dozen teammates he paid to bring from Waco for a spring break trip. It's time for a five-mile run. Lagway's new Baylor teammates groggily check the time.
Wide receiver DeBraun Hampton laughs to himself. This is the DJ he's known since their days on the youth fields of Willis, Texas. It's the maniacal work ethic that helped him become one of the highest-profile quarterbacks in the sport.
"They thought he was crazy or something," Hampton said. His goals sound crazy, but they're supposed to be crazy." Lagway was a crown jewel at Florida, the centerpiece of a doomed program under Billy Napier. Rated the No. 3 overall player and No. 1 quarterback in the nation, there were whispers of Tebow and Newton when he enrolled.
Between injuries and an inconsistent roster, the luster rubbed off. After Napier was fired, Lagway was left in limbo. When incoming coach Jon Sumrall came to campus, it became clear that the new system wouldn't be a great fit.
It sent Lagway looking for a second chance. Baylor, his father's alma mater, became the place. "My dad always told me to go somewhere where you were wanted," Lagway said.
"I felt like here, it was mutual love and respect both ways… I'm forever thankful for this place." After the run were more workouts. In the afternoon, Lagway took his teammates to a training facility to throw and do field work, before relaxing together in the house. Over the course of a week, strangers became brothers.
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