Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway made his first career SEC road start on Saturday night in Baton Rouge. It did not go as he had hoped. The sophomore tossed five interceptions in the 20-10 loss including one that was returned 58 yards for a touchdown.
Lagway met with the media postgame to give his thoughts. Here’s what he had to say:
What are your thoughts on the game tonight and how you played?
Lagway: “I didn’t play well at all and got to do better.”
What do you feel like were the struggles for you tonight?
Lagway: “I didn’t play turnover-free ball, and every time you have five turnovers in a game, can’t expect to win.”
Common themes with picks?
Lagway: “Yeah, just bad ball placement on a lot of things, bad misread throws, you know, I got to play better. And like Coach Napier always says, this is a practice sport. You got to practice. You got to play it. You get through it and continue to work and I’ll get better.”
Coach Napier mentioned progressions. From your perspective do you think that the offseason, the way that it went for you, the lack of practice time, just has made that more difficult to handle?
Lagway: “I would say it’s definitely been hard. But God does everything for a reason. I missed that time period for a reason to assess some things and fix some things that I needed to fix – on and off the field. So, I can’t ever say like that was big problem. I just keep my head down and just gotta just work hard and continue to get better.”
How do you process a performance like that?
Lagway: “Yeah, I’ve never had a performance like that in my life, so it’s kind of hard to process it. But at the end of the day, it’s all about, how do you bounce back, and how do you respond? And I’m planning on doing so.”
You did have a lot of time in the film room. A little disappointing that maybe that’s not translating, or is there more film study that’s needed?
Lagway: “Yeah, it’s definitely always ways to improve your process and things like that. But like I said, I’m just excited to get back to work, man. I got to get this taste out of my mouth. I played horrible football today, and I got to do better.”
After the fourth interception, you and coach had a long conversation on the sideline. What did you guys talk about?
Lagway: “We just talked about, just in the situation of the game, and what we’re trying to accomplish there. I kind of left it a little high on the receiver on the post route, and I missed the throw. But he’s just telling me, ‘I see what you were thinking there. But we gotta play the play a little smarter right there in that area, trying to — you know, got three points.’ “
Which interception bothered you the most tonight?
Lagway: “I’d say all of them bothered me. So it wasn’t when the ones just stuck out. I feel like the one before halftime really hurt, giving them three points, before going into halftime. But, like I said, all of them was really, it was really painful. But I just got to play better.”