Orange & Blue Game Notebook: National Champs Honored, Records Fall, Lagway Update
Saturday, April 12, 2025 | Men's Basketball, Football
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 2025 Orange & Blue Game was arguably the most unique in UF history. And it had nothing to do with the play on Steve Spurrier Field.
It had everything to do with halftime.
During the 30-minute break, the 2025 NCAA National Champion Florida men's basketball team was honored in front of a 56,563 Gators fans, who were at a fever pitch and never left their feet. The announced attendance was the most at a UF spring game since 2009.
As each Gator was introduced, the crowd roared louder, building to the arrival of NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, senior guard Walter Clayton Jr., who emerged from the tunnel holding the NCAA Championship Trophy.
Clayton Jr. later capped the festivities by taking the microphone at midfield to speak directly to fans.
"I gotta stand up to say this — I'm a Florida boy, through and through, and we're family," Clayton Jr. said. "Gator boys stay hot, and it's gonna continue."
When Florida basketball won national titles in 2006 and 2007, the celebrations were held in the Stephen O'Connell Center. But the 10,133-seat arena was never enough to hold all the Gator faithful — many watched the celebration on the stadium screens at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
This time, the celebration was held right in The Swamp, allowing far more fans to show their support — just as they had all season.
Florida head coach Todd Golden helped unveil the 2025 national championship banner, which will hang in the O'Dome rafters. He then addressed Gator Nation, basketball net draped around his neck, thanking fans for their support.
"We're incredibly grateful to bring a national championship back to Florida, where it belongs," Golden said.
Before Golden spoke, Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward presented a key to the city to Golden and the entire team in a ceremony, led by Voice of the Gators Sean Kelley.
"You will always have a home, right here, in the capital of the Gator Nation," Ward said.
He was followed by UF athletic director Scott Stricklin, who thanked Gators fans, boosters, players and staff.
Stricklin also highlighted some of the tournament's defining moments, including sophomore forward Alex Condon's game-sealing grab in the national title game — prompting thunderous cheers.
As the crowd roared on, Kelley spoke with several UF players who thanked the Gator Nation.
Among them was junior center Micah Handlogten, who waived his medical redshirt to help the Gators chase a title, calling it "the best decision of [his] life."
Meanwhile, sophomore guard Denzel Aberdeen — who scored Florida's 65th and final point on a free throw with 19 seconds remaining — couldn't help but joke with the crowd.
"My fault for missing that first free throw," Aberdeen said, to laughter from the fans.
BACK TO THE FIELD
Following Team Blue's 38–32 victory over Team Orange, Gators football coach Billy Napier said the basketball tribute was the "icing on the cake."
"I thought it was an awesome idea by the athletic department to combine the Orange & Blue Game with a celebration of the national championship," Napier said.
On the field, plenty of UF spring-game records were broken.
Graduate quarterback Harrison Bailey, who transferred from Louisville for his final season of eligibility, threw for 361 yards, surpassing Chris Leak's 2004 record of 335. It was a full-circle moment for Bailey, whose first collegiate start came in The Swamp with Tennessee on Dec. 5, 2020.
"A real experience considering I grew up a Florida fan, watching Tebow and Chris Rainey, Demps and all those boys play,'' Bailey said Saturday. "But it was pretty unreal, you know, running out the stadium, being able to compete and play against some of my teammates, with some of my teammates, it was an unreal experience, something I've dreamed up since I was a little kid."
Redshirt senior running back Ja'Kobi Jackson also made history, breaking the spring game rushing record with 198 yards — including a 90-yard touchdown, the longest run in Orange & Blue Game history.
"The O-line did a great job today," Jackson said. "There wasn't much I had to do except run good and run straight."
Freshman wide receiver Dallas Wilson starred as well, hauling in a spring-game record 10 catches and tying Trevon Grimes' 195-yard receiving mark from 2019.
His breakout drew high praise from both Napier and Bailey, the latter saying he knew Wilson was "set for a monster day."
DJ LAGWAY UPDATE
While quarterbacks Harrison (Team Orange) and Aidan Warner (Team Blue) took the majority of the reps Saturday, Gators sophomore DJ Lagway took the first snap of the game, handing off to Jackson for the Blue.
Lagway played five snaps, all hand-offs, as he continues to nurse shoulder and lower-body injuries. However, Napier said Lagway's pace will soon pick up.
"DJ's doing great," Napier said. "He'll start throwing here in a couple weeks. The lower-body stuff is good, and I think he's been able to do that and I think we're working on just kind of getting him in position for the next step.
"When we start OTAs [organized team activities] in June, he'll be 100%."
