JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida’s quarterback of the future and its quarterback of the past faced off Saturday as the quarterback of the present tried to steal one of the most miraculous victories in program history.

The quarterback of the future, five-star freshman DJ Lagway, watched the north video board from the Gators’ sideline at EverBank Stadium. The top-10 recruit grabbed a pair of crutches and wore a brace on his left leg after leaving the 34-20 loss to No. 2 Georgia with what head coach Billy Napier called a “pretty significant” soft tissue injury. There was nothing he could do.

Past quarterback, sixth-year Graham Mertz, watched the south video board from a folding chair a few feet away. He had his baseball cap backwards and his left leg up as he recovered from the torn ACL that ended his college career at Tennessee three weeks ago. He couldn’t do anything either.

And today’s quarterback? Walk-on Yale transfer Aidan Warner saw a championship-caliber defense get behind him time and time again, but somehow he found a way to keep the Gators (4-4, 2-3 SEC) competitive.

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Bowl eligibility and Napier’s job could hinge on whether he can do it again next week at No. 6 Texas, if not after that in a tough November.

Lagway’s status is uncertain after he went down awkwardly in the second quarter, eight minutes after throwing his second touchdown pass in three career starts. Napier didn’t say much about his availability, other than to say he would have an MRI on Sunday. But it’s never a good sign when a bench becomes empty to support a player being carted off the field. The fact that Napier said the Gators will rally around Warner seems significant.

While Warner’s numbers were rough — 7 of 22 passed for 66 yards, no touchdowns and an interception — there is something to rally around because context matters.

Warner didn’t play again last season after joining Yale as a three-star recruit from the Orlando suburb of Winter Park. He arrived in Florida in January but was sidelined in the spring with a knee injury. He rebounded to beat out former Colorado State starter Clay Millen for the No. 3 job during preseason camp, but still got few reps. A month ago, as Napier put it, Warner was “standing around eating ice cream” while Mertz and Lagway practiced.

DJ Lagway was the No. 7 recruit in the class of 2024. (Melina Myers / Imagn Images)

Then Mertz went down. Three weeks after that, Lagway caught the back of his leg on the turf after a short rush. Warner had to make the first meaningful snaps of his career against the ruthless defense of a bitter rival good enough to win a third national championship in four seasons.

Warner hit Elijahh Badger on third-and-10 to set up a field goal attempt in the third quarter. It’s not his fault the Gators messed up.

He found Badger again midway through the fourth for a 26-yard pass to set up a tying touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter. It was a ride that had Mertz and Lagway raising their arms to the sky in celebration.

“What I liked most about the way he played was he didn’t back down,” Gators receiver Chimere Dike said. “He could see in his eyes that he was competing. He will continue to get better.”

That has to be the case, assuming Laway misses an extended period. Florida’s defense has improved dramatically since being torched by Miami and crushed by Texas A&M, and the run game is good enough to give the Gators a chance to salvage a bowl game. But Florida probably can’t beat Texas, No. 16 LSU or No. 19 Ole Miss with a one-dimensional offense.

And if the Gators fail to win at least one of them — and beat rival Florida State in the finals — Napier’s job still appears to be in jeopardy.

It’s fair to consider how difficult it is to potentially start a third-string quarterback when assessing Napier’s third season. But it’s also fair to wonder why the Gators are left with a transfer to the Ivy League in the first place.

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The Gators have lost at least seven scholarship students prematurely in Napier’s 35 months on the job. Anthony Richardson’s early departure to become a top-five NFL draft pick is understandable, but only part of the equation:

• Jaden Rashada signed with Napier as a top-100 national recruit. He was released on bail after an NIL dispute and was on the other sideline on Saturday as backup for Georgia, who coincidentally are indicting Napier.

• Emory Jones, the 2021 starter, transferred to Arizona State a week after Napier’s freshman spring.

• Napier recruit Jack Miller, who started the bowl game in Napier’s freshman year, left after last season.

• Four-star signee Carlos Del-Rio Wilson transferred to Syracuse and started twice there.

• Napier signee Max Brown, who started last year’s final against Florida State, transferred to Charlotte and started the opener.

• Backup Jalen Kitna was fired after being accused of child pornography, which was later dismissed after a plea deal. He threw for more than 400 yards and six touchdowns in UAB’s loss to Tulsa on Saturday.

While it’s nearly impossible to build quarterback depth in the portal era, Napier is responsible for the roster and its turnover. He is also responsible for the results: a record that has fallen to 15-18 overall, 8-13 in the SEC, 1-10 against rivals and 0-3 against the Bulldogs.

There may still be time for him to turn things around. Florida can’t win moral victories, but the broken Gators played tighter against Georgia than in their previous three-touchdown losses under Napier.

“For the first time since I’ve been head coach here, we showed up and we believed we could beat that team,” Napier said.

The problem, of course, is that they didn’t beat that team. Warner was forced into a bad interception at the Florida 25 that led to Georgia’s final touchdown. A final gasp ended with an incompletion, a sack and two more incompletions.

After the last one, Mertz and Lagway didn’t react much. The quarterback of the future stood up and supported himself with his crutches. The quarterback of the past has adjusted his knee brace.

Then Warner went to the sideline to watch the final seconds of the Gators’ fourth straight loss in the series, carrying with him the hope of a position group, a program and its coach.

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(Top photo of Aidan Warner: David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)