Baylor’s DJ Lagway presents a different kind of challenge for rolling ASU defense

After two games of successfully containing a mobile quarterback, the Arizona State defense will face a high-upside pocket passer for the first time this season.

Baylor’s DJ Lagway missed two games with an ankle injury after starting a new chapter in his career following a transfer from Florida. He fell short of his upside with the Gators after arriving as the top quarterback in the 2024 high school class, per 247 Sports.

The talent has shown up, albeit only in intermittent flashes, as he went a combined 12-13 with 28 touchdowns and 23 interceptions over two seasons (25 games) at Florida.

“You’re not the No. 1 (quarterback in the 2024 class) on accident. It’s not like everybody was wrong,” ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta. “It’s challenging ’cause you see what he does in this system Week 1 and he shows really good flashes, but it was his first game ever in this system and he still made the big-time throws.

“Then he gets dinged up for two weeks. Then he comes back and I still think he came back a little bit dinged up. … He’ll be healthier this week versus us. So you’re kind of playing this game of, like, this kid’s only going to be better than he has been because it’s his third game in the system and he got healthier and he’s more comfortable.”

With Lagway’s cannon of an arm, it only takes a few hits down field to make a major impact in the isolated one-game setting against ASU.

“It’s definitely a challenge because he can literally throw the ball anywhere on the field wherever he likes all the time,” Dillingham said.

The matchup will put a considerable amount of stress on the Sun Devils’ secondary, which is tasked with defending Baylor star slot receiver Gavin Freeman, who hurdled a defender, took a mid-air hit and stuck his arm in the ground to keep the run going as part of an absurd highlight in the Bears’ last game.

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The 5-foot-9 Freeman leads FBS receivers with 35 catches and is fourth among Big 12 players in receiving yards (364) with two touchdowns. He has two games with double-digit receptions, including a season-high 12 against Auburn in the opener.

But because the QB contain game isn’t as big of a focus against the stationary Lagway (230 career rushing yards in 26 games and -7 yards in two games this season) as it was against Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed or Kansas’ Isaiah Marshall, ASU’s defense will get a chance to bring added pressure.

Michigan State transfer Jalen Thompson has led the pass rush so far with 11 of the Sun Devils’ 28 pressures so far, but it will be a huge get-back opportunity for Emar’rion Winston, who is second on the team with four pressures after transferring from Baylor.

Winston, a fifth-year senior, had the first three career sacks of his college career in a Baylor uniform last season, and he has one so far this season for the Sun Devils.

“A lot of energy, he’s a physical dude. He brings a little bit of an edge to that room, but a lot of maturity,” defensive coordinator Brian Ward said. “He’s a married guy, so he has kind of a mature confidence. He’s been there, done that. He’s seen a lot in his career and we’re really happy to have him. He’s been a great addition for us.”

ASU’s defense is coming off an especially strong showing as it allowed just 10 points to the Kansas offense, and all of those points came in the final seven minutes after ASU had gone up 24-7.

That was after it held Texas A&M to 255 total yards (4.3 yards per play) as the defense kept the Sun Devils in it right up until an avalanche of giveaways in the fourth quarter.

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