At their own 40-yard line with 29 seconds to go in the first half, the Florida Gators had a chance to double up against No. 3 LSU. The score was tied, 10-10, and UF was set to receive the second half kickoff.
To that point, it had been an up-and-down night for sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway. He was intercepted in plus territory on a third-and-10 in the first quarter but responded with a touchdown throw to sophomore Aidan Mizell to even the score with three minutes left in the second quarter. But Lagway’s rollercoaster night soon shifted into a full-blown nightmare.
Looking across the field for freshman wide receiver Vernell Brown III, Lagway lofted an interception to senior safety A.J. Haulcy, who read the throw with ease. That allowed the Tigers to kick a field goal to head into the half up 13-10.
The bleeding didn’t stop there. On a third-and-18 midway through the third quarter, Lagway stepped into a clean pocket and quickly fired a throw ahead of redshirt senior J. Michael Sturdivant on an in-breaking route. LSU safety Dashawn Spears, who had picked off Lagway in the first quarter, came down across the throw and snagged it, running it 58 yards for an LSU touchdown.
Lagway later threw two more picks late in the fourth quarter, finishing UF’s 20-10 loss to LSU with a whopping five interceptions, tied for the second-most in a game in UF program history. The last time a Gator quarterback threw that many picks in a single game was 1992.
Throughout the former five-star’s high school and collegiate career thus far, he had never thrown more than two interceptions in one game.
“I played horrible football today,” Lagway said. “I've never had a performance like that in my life, so it's kind of hard to process it.”
Adversity is a new challenge for the Willis, Texas, native. He electrified in his freshman season, leading the Gators to a 6-1 record as a starter. Entering 2025, Lagway was a Heisman hopeful for a Florida team expected to be on the rise.
But the warning signs were prevalent from the moment the 2024 season ended. Lagway went through a treacherous offseason filled with setbacks. Three separate injuries kept the former five-star recruit mostly out of action during the preseason.
“He's had a very unique offseason," Florida head coach Billy Napier said Sept. 13. "He's missed quite a bit of time. But I would say that what he's going to say to you is that he's not going to use that as a crutch. This is not a young man that's looking for excuses.”
The lack of preseason preparation could account for a majority of Lagway’s mishaps. On all five interceptions, Lagway seemed to rush a throw to his first read instead of going through his progressions to find the right play. Napier noticed, too, saying that was the “primary” issue on all five errant throws.
Notably, despite Lagway’s subpar performance, he remained under center through the entirety of the matchup. After the game, Napier made it clear Lagway would remain UF’s quarterback going forward, even with calls for true freshman Tramell Jones Jr. to step in and give Lagway a breather.
“I don’t subscribe to that theory,” Napier said about starting Jones. “DJ’s our quarterback. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the country.”
Napier isn’t the only member of the Florida program with faith in the quarterback. Sophomore linebacker Myles Graham emphasized postgame Lagway doesn’t deserve all the blame for UF’s defeat.
“We got to play better on both sides of the ball,” Graham said. “It's a team game. It's not just on DJ; it's not just on him. It’s not just on one person. It's on all of us.”
Lagway also struggled during Florida’s 18-16 loss against South Florida on Sept. 6, throwing an interception on a deep pass in the third quarter while orchestrating just one touchdown drive.
Over UF’s three games this season, Lagway has thrown six interceptions and five touchdowns, with three of the scores coming against Long Island in a 55-0 win Aug. 30. Meanwhile, Florida’s defense has only suffered two touchdowns all season.
The sophomore quarterback’s path back to consistent play does not get any easier moving forward. Florida heads south to play undefeated No. 4 Miami (3-0) at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X @maxbernstein23.
Max is the Summer 2025 sports editor. He is a third-year journalism sports & media major and in his fifth semester at The Alligator. He is a big South Florida sports fan and would die for Matthew Tkachuk.
