2024 Florida Football Postgame Notes

Florida 24, No. 9 Ole Miss 17

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field – Gainesville, Fla.
OPENING DRIVE: UNRANKED GATORS POST BACK-TO-BACK RANKED VICTORIES IN THE SWAMP

• Florida’s victory over No. 9 Ole Miss marks the Gators’ highest-ranked SEC win as an unranked team
  in over 10 years – since defeating No. 9 Georgia, 38-20, on Nov. 1, 2014.
• Florida secured its second top-10 win of the Billy Napier era (No. 7 Utah – Sept. 3, 2022)
• Florida delivered its fourth win vs. the AP Top 25 of the Napier era as an unranked team and has
  won at least one ranked game in all three years of his tenure.
• The Gators won back-to-back games over AP Top 25 opponents (No. 21 LSU, No. 9 Ole Miss) as an
  unranked team for the first time since Oct. 11-18, 2003 (No. 6 LSU, No. 11 Arkansas).
  o This is the first time this feat has been accomplished in back-to-back home games.
• Florida won back-to-back games vs. AP Top 25 teams for the first time since Nov. 29-Dec. 6, 2008
  (No. 23 FSU, No. 1 Alabama).
• Florida (6-5) clinched its 49th bowl appearance in program history.
• The Gators have gone bowling in six of the last seven seasons, and in nine of the last 11.
• Florida has now won four straight-games in The Swamp by a combined 57 points.
• The Gators have won 18 of their last 24 games in The Swamp (18-6) including 13 of the last 18 (13-5).
• Week 13 vs. Ole Miss marked the 12th-straight sellout in The Swamp and 16th of the Napier era.
• Saturday’s sellout crowd of 89,942 brought Florida’s final 2024 season average attendance to
  90,016 – the program’s highest since the 2015 campaign.
  OFFENSIVE NOTES
• RB Montrell Johnson Jr. made his seventh start of the season, rushing 18 times for a season-high 107
  yards (5.9 YPC) while scoring his 20th rushing touchdown as a Gator (32nd of career, 34 total TDs).
  o Johnson’s nine-yard TD rush gave UF a 24-17 lead with 7:40 in the fourth quarter.
• Johnson Jr. rushed for 100-plus yards for the 10th time in his career and eighth time as a Gator.
• QB DJ Lagway made his fifth-career start and completed 10-of-17 passes for 180 yards, two
  touchdowns and one interception for a 174.8 rating.
• Lagway produced his second-career multi-touchdown game as a passer.
• Lagway has thrown seven touchdowns to three interceptions in his five starts.
• Lagway completed his 12th pass of 40-plus yards this year on a 41-yard strike to WR Chimere Dike.
• RB Jadan Baugh carried 13 times for 46 yards while catching his first receiving TD.
• WR Elijhah Badger put UF on the board with a nine-yard TD grab in the second quarter, marking his
  second-straight game with a receiving score and his team-leading fourth of the season.
• Badger paced Florida with five catches and 87 yards.
• Badger has eight receptions of 17-plus yards in the last two games alone.
• Dike added three catches for 54 yards.
• Dike owns 18 explosive plays this season highlighted by 16 catches of 20-plus yards.
• The Gators allowed just three sacks against an Ole Miss pass rush that entered ranking first
  nationally with five more sacks (46) than any other FBS team.
• Florida has allowed just 16 sacks all season.
• The Gators have punched in a rushing touchdown in 10 of 11 games this season, and 30 of 36
  contests since 2022.
• The Gators have rushed for 100-plus yards in 10 of 11 games this season, and 30 of their last 36
  games since 2022.
• In 27 of 36 games in the Napier era, Florida has registered at least one passing touchdown.
• Florida has won the time of possession battle in 16 of 23 contests since the start of last season.
  DEFENSIVE NOTES
  ● The Gators have recorded a takeaway in eight-straight games and in 10 of 11 games overall,
  finishing with three against Ole Miss (one fumble recovery, two interceptions).
  ● The Gators have forced eight turnovers on downs in their own territory this season, doing so vs. Ole
  Miss in both halves of today’s game.
  ● Florida forced a turnover on downs inside the redzone twice in the same game for the first time
  since Sept. 24, 2016 at Tennessee.

● Florida totaled nine tackles for loss for a total of 20 across the last two games.
● DL Caleb Banks recorded his third sack of the season to force a punt on the Rebels’ opening drive.
● Banks finished with a career-high 2.5 sacks and had 3.5 tackles for loss (4.5 sacks on season).
● Florida has held its opponent to zero points on its opening drive in five-straight games.
o The Gators then forced a turnover on downs on fourth and one at the UFL11.
● EDGE Kamran James logged his second tackle for loss of the year in the first quarter.
● DB Bryce Thornton led UF with a career-high 14 tackles, nearly doubling his previous best of eight.
● DT Cam Jackson totaled 1.5 tackles for loss.
● DB Trikweze Bridges surpassed 150 career tackles with an 11-tackle performance.
● DB DJ Douglas notched his first-career fumble recovery on Micah Davis’ muff in the third quarter.
● EDGE Tyreak Sapp and Banks teamed up for a fourth-quarter sack to force an Ole Miss punt.
● Sapp now owns a team-high 5.5 sacks on the year.
● DB Bryce Thornton picked off Jaxson Dart in the endzone with 1:32 remaining in the game.
● Thornton then sealed the game with a second interception with 0:17 left.
● Thornton’s two-interception performance marked the first by a Gator in 29 games – since Jaydon
Hill vs. Missouri in 2022.
● Thornton has three interceptions on the season.
● The Gators have produced at least one turnover in 27 of 36 games in the Napier era.
● The Gators recorded three sacks in today’s game.
o Since the start of 2021, Florida has out-sacked its opponents by a plus-25 margin.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
● P Jeremy Crawshaw punted seven times for an average of 46.7 yards, highlighted by one of 50-
plus, one of 60-plus, one inside the 20 and a long of 62.
● K Trey Smack connected for a 53-yard field goal to give UF a 17-14 lead in the third.
o The make marked Smack’s third of the season and fifth of his career.
o Smack improved to 13-for-16 on the year.

EXPLOSIVE PLAYS (12)
● RB Jadan Baugh: 17-yard rush, first quarter
● WR Elijhah Badger (from QB DJ Lagway): 19-yard reception, first quarter
● WR Elijhah Badger (from Lagway): 17-yard reception, first quarter
● RB Montrell Johnson Jr.: 16-yard rush, second quarter
● WR Elijhah Badger (from Lagway): 27-yard reception, second quarter
● RB Jadan Baugh (from Lagway): 25-yard receiving TD, second quarter
● RB Montrell Johnson Jr.: 16-yard rush, second quarter
● RB Montrell Johnson Jr.: 12-yard rush, second quarter
● RB Montrell Johnson Jr.: 10-yard rush, second quarter
● WR Chimere Dike (from Lagway): 41-yard reception, fourth quarter
● RB Montrell Johnson Jr.: 12-yard rush, fourth quarter
● WR Elijhah Badger (from Lagway): 16-yard reception, fourth quarter
SERIES UPDATES
● Today’s game represented the 26th all-time meeting between Florida and Ole Miss and 12th meeting in
Gainesville.
● With today’s victory, the Gators improve 13-12-1 (.519) in the all-time series vs. the Rebels and 5-6-1 (.458) in
Gainesville.
o Florida has won 12 of the last 17 meetings against Ole Miss.

• HC Billy Napier improves to 1-0 against Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin as head coaches.
  THE STREAK
  ● Florida has scored in 459-consecutive games — an NCAA record and 53 games longer than any other college
  football team in history.
  o The Gators broke Michigan’s record of 365 games (1984-2014) vs. LSU on Oct. 7, 2017.
  o The last time Florida was shut out was on Oct. 29, 1988 vs. Auburn (L, 16-0).

GAME DETAILS
● Florida Game Captains: #6 WR Elijhah Badger, #88 DL Caleb Banks, #0 WR Ja’Quavion Fraziars
● Coin Toss: Florida won the toss and deferred. Florida defended the north endzone.
● Attendance: 89,942 (sellout)

University of Florida Football
Media Conference
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Gainesville, Florida, USA
Billy Napier
Press Conference

Florida 24, Ole Miss 17
BILLY NAPIER: I’m going to keep it quick because I know
you’ve got something planned for tonight.
Look, I think first of all, man, just incredible atmosphere
today. It doesn’t get much better than that. 12:00 noon
kick, 65 degrees, sunshine and a packed house. Our fans
were incredible, played a major role in the game. Just to
see them rally behind our team and players, and certainly
for me, our seniors. I think this group — I told them in there
just now, leadership is really hard. It requires a lot from
you. I think these guys have stepped up in a major way.
That first month of the year was a challenge in every facet,
and I think young people, at that point they’ve got to decide
who they want to be and what they’re about. I think this
group of seniors, there’s very specific players in that group,
very grateful for them.
I think we challenged the team we play today should reflect
that group and the courage and the adversity that they’ve
shown.
I think the whole message this week was earn the right to
win, and I think that we have to earn the right to win
throughout the week, and then ultimately when we get to
the park, it’s not about yesterday, it’s not about tomorrow,
it’s not about who’s on the other sideline. You’ve got to
spot the ball and you’ve got to go earn the right to win.
I do think that today was special in a lot of regards in terms
of Dr. Fox, this being his last game, and thankful for him
and his leadership and certainly for him being a part of the
group of people that gave me an opportunity here.
Thankful for Dr. Fox.
The game was a game of turnover margin, red zone
scoring, and ultimately I think you put those two things
together, we’ll be very difficult to beat.
Obviously the defensively was lights out, we played great
field position, and we made just enough explosive plays we

were able to rush the ball against a good front.
Complementary football, football in its purest form, and just
really proud of our players and team.
Q. You touched on the red zone, but you stopped a
guy who doesn’t get stopped very often. You stopped
him twice on short yardage there. What have you seen
from that defense and their ability to play in this
atmosphere?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah. I think that when we were trying to
build our team and put our team together, there’s an
understanding in this league that you’ve got to be really
good in the trenches. We all understand that. Really not
just this league but ultimately to be a championship
contender and to play consistently every week, you’ve got
to be good up front on both sides.
I thought we were better on both sides today up front, and
short yardage defense is a big component. Those are
identity plays. I think we had guys step up and make
plays.
But again, I think they had six turnovers if you include the
4th down stops and the missed field goal and a couple
picks and the muffed punt. We took full advantage of
those. Wasn’t always pretty on offense. There’s certainly
some things we can do a little bit better here or there, but
that’s a good group over there, and I thought we managed
their front with the way that we played the game.
Q. Coach, on the second play of the game, No. 13
Aaron Gates goes down. Was there an adjustment you
had to make on the defensive end to accommodate for
him? Because he had a massive game at Georgia.
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, Aaron has been one of our best
players the last probably five or six weeks of the season.
He’s still a young player but extremely talented. Played
corner and receiver, punt returner, kick returner in high
school.
The big adjustment was the kicking game depth chart. He
does a lot for us in the kicking game, as well. Then Sharif

Denson is playing basically the entire game.
Sharif has been a rotational player. He and Aaron play
equal snaps the entire week, and then today he got all of
the load.
Q. Just talk about Montrell Johnson a little bit,
obviously coming back. He had been injured the past
couple weeks and seemed to be healthy and stepped
up, especially on senior night.
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, Montrell is a special kid to me for a
lot of reasons. He’s a class act, first of all. Has been since
I’ve first met him. But just a selfless guy who really sets
the tone and the example in the running back room. I think
we’ve got young players in there that have been able to
transition and play well and be successful, and they’re
watching him, and I think that he set the example, he sets
the standard in that room.
Look, I’ll be honest with you. That possession where we
threw the shot to Chim and then fed him the ball three
plays in a row, I told Jabbar, hey, let’s get one in there.
He’s feeling it pretty good today, and he delivered. I think
he had 127 yards today; is that correct? So 18 carries.
Look, the guy, all he does is produce. He’s been doing it. I
remember the first scrimmage we had at Louisiana. He
was wearing No. 25 back then. I wrote down out there
behind the scrimmage, hey, 25 is a real guy. He’s been
toting the rock ever since.
Q. You’ve been preaching culture building throughout
your first three years here, and there’s obviously been
some impatience just in terms of immediate
on-the-field results, but the last five weeks, how does it
feel to see everything coming together in such
beautiful fashion, and what would you attribute this
breakthrough to?
BILLY NAPIER: Well, we’ve got a long way to go, and I
think obviously we’ve improved. I think it goes back to
what I’ve told you guys before. I think belief is the most
powerful thing in the world, and I think that at some point
there mid-season, I think we figured out and we started to
believe, look, we can play with any team in the country.
We’ve tried to direct our players’ attention to things that
require no talent and convinced them, hey, you have the
physical ability, but it’s got to be about more than that.
You know, you’ve got to dream big, and then you’ve got to
have little process. So it’s about daily, can you do it daily,
can you be consistent. I think that was the big leadership
challenge this week. Hey, let’s go do it again.

I think we were able to — the staff did a really good job
getting them physically ready, mentally ready and
emotionally ready to go, because it requires a lot to
compete at that level in that arena, and I thought the staff
had them ready today.
Q. There’s a lot of voices you mentioned throughout
the season as potential leaders for this squad. Who
would you say has been key in building a foundation
for this program?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, we’ve got more than — I’m not
singling one person out because we’ve got more than I can
count. That’s what it takes. Look, not just players; I had
them counted up one day, we’ve got about 275 people that
contribute to our team, and they all matter.
I think we struggled early; it would be easy for a lot of
people, not just players, to maybe not take as much pride
in what they do or blame others. I think you’ve got to be
solution oriented. Anybody can talk about problems; who
can work together with other people and come up with
solutions.
There’s no substitute for people remaining humble and
continuing to take pride in what they do.
Q. Fourth quarter you really put on your defense.
Obviously late game when you got the lead. What did
you see on the field or what gave you the confidence
they were going to close it out?
BILLY NAPIER: Well, I think that we had — we were able
to stop the run with a light box. Really all the running game
was quarterback scramble. For the most part, I’d say
outside of those two explosives in the first half, we stayed
on top of them. I thought we had good leverage in
coverage. Again, we were able to affect the quarterback. I
think we hit him a lot, and then you could see that it was
affecting him, and obviously we’ve got really good
specialists, so the field position portion.
So yeah, I just think in general we played complementary
ball and it ended up working out.
Q. Can you talk a little bit about Bryce Thornton’s
performance today. It seems like he’s always popping
up in the right spot at the right time?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, Bryce has been a huge bright spot,
stepping up in a major way. Obviously we’ve had some
injuries there. Two picks and a career high in tackles, and
coming off of an injury. Bryce has been in that training
room every day for weeks, and I think he’s really stepped

up for our team in a major way.
Bryce got good experience last year, and I think ultimately
he’s a very capable player. He showed out today.
Q. Late in the fourth quarter, backed up and you
allowed DJ to roll out and throw the out route there.
There’s a lot of experienced quarterbacks that don’t
get the trust from their coach to be able to do that.
What was the thought process there, and just even his
reaction to say, hey, we’re going to throw it out of the
end zone here?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, I think backed-up offense is about
five first flip. You’ve got to get five yards, you try to get a
1st down, then you try to get another and flip the field.
Sometimes you need to do that.
He has made progress. We didn’t move him around a lot.
He did make some plays with his feet today.
But I asked him how he was feeling, and he said, I’m good,
so we went with it. It was a heck of a catch by Badge and
certainly don’t have to protect to throw a movement pass.
That’s one of the best things about it.
Q. Guys like Quincy Wilson, Teez Tabor who were
around the last time Ole Miss came to the Swamp,
what have they meant to being around the team and
maybe showing some guidance to some of the guys
based on playing in the NFL and some of those
things?
BILLY NAPIER: Well, one of the more impactful things that
we’ve tried to be very intentional about is including our
former players. I think it helps our players because there is
a generational gap here in terms of some of those
successes from the past.
I think this place has been to the top of the mountain, and I
think it’s important for our young people to understand what
that looks like. Sometimes meeting young players who
have done it and players from the past I think helps them,
and the way we want it to work around here is you come
here, you finish the race, you get your degree, and you
come back and you do what those guys are doing.
I’m very thankful we’ve got some great former players that
have made an impact. Those are a couple of them.
Q. You touched on your opening statement, but
outside of this building, not many people gave you
much of a chance after the first month of the season.
To see the guys work through it, beat two ranked
teams in a row and now you’re bowl eligible, how

much fun was it to celebrate with the guys in the
locker room?
BILLY NAPIER: Look, I think it’s not about yesterday, it’s
not about tomorrow, it’s about today. You’ve got to get
extremely hard to get to a place where you have some
belief. I think belief comes as a result of a lot of integrity,
togetherness, discipline, effort, toughness. I think this
group has done that.
I challenged the players yesterday to be a today guy, not a
someday guy. I think sometimes we like to punt it down
the road and say, someday I’m going to, rather than, you
know what, today I’m going to do that. Just taking actions,
being present, living in the moment, focusing on the things
you can control. These are said over and over.
But I think this group has done it. The product speaks for
itself. They played their tail off today.
Q. Following up on that, I don’t want to go too far
back, but September was a pretty low point after those
two home games and now you’ve had consecutive
wins against ranked teams here. I heard what you just
said, but is it almost in some ways hard to believe, or
is this as gratifying as it is to win a championship in
some ways?
BILLY NAPIER: No, I would just say we’re just getting
started. This is just part of the big picture journey.
Look, I think for me, yeah, I’ve watched this group —
college football is unique. We play 12 regular season
games, maybe get to play another or two, but I’m around
these guys every day. Behind the scenes there’s a lot that
happens and a lot that goes on. We go and we put it on
full display 12 times a year.
I’ve been saying it the entire time, I just think there was
something special about this group, and when the football
wasn’t right in the beginning of the year, man, it hurt me a
little bit to be honest with you because I’ve been watching
these guys working and anticipating us being much
improved.
So I think I just was consumed with anything and
everything that I could do to help them get better, like how
do we fix this. Give them some credit; they were vocal.
They took ownership. They collaborated with the coaches.
I think we chipped away at it, and today obviously played
good enough to win.
Q. You might have touched on DJ to a degree, but
those three throws where he kind of escaped
situations —

BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, those are the plays of the game.
Again, I’ll say what I said last time. The good Lord blessed
DJ Lagway. It pays off to be 6’31⁄4″, 240 pounds. Yeah,
those were phenomenal plays. Guys are draped all over
him, he finds a guy, keeps his eyes downfield. For the
most part, we kept him clean today. We caught a game
where their front wasn’t able to be a factor to some degree.
I think we did what we needed to do to win, and he was a
huge part of that for sure.
Q. You had a moment with everyone today, but last
was Graham Mertz. It looked like you were fired up
watching him walk out. What was that moment like to
share with him today and what has Graham meant to
you?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, man, Graham is one of those on
that list. When I say we should be thankful for this group of
seniors, he’s one of those guys. Look, injuries are a
challenge, so one thing I’ll tell you about that guy, he don’t
flinch, man. He’s been the same guy throughout the entire
deal. And what a — last year, just an inspirational — these
guys know his heart. They know how hard he’s worked,
and for him not to be able to play is a big deal. But the
humility, the class, the selflessness, the way he’s handled
the situation with DJ, their relationship, his example to the
team, his knowledge. One of the reasons why 2 is playing
like he is out there is because he got to watch Graham
Mertz for six, eight, ten months, so I think that relationship
has been critical.
We’ve got a lot of examples like that on our team. Montrell
Johnson, Jadan Baugh, Ja’Kobi is another example of that.
Look, I think in college football, when you get it rolling is
when the veteran players are establishing expectations
and standards and young players show up, they get in line
and they do what they see being done. Until you get to
that place, you haven’t established anything, and I think
this year was the first time I could say with conviction that
we’ve established that.
Q. Over the last three years we’ve heard you say stay
the course a bunch of times. Was there a point that
you thought maybe we needed a course correction in
here? And at what point did you think we’re on the
right course, we really have it now and going in the
right direction?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, I mean, I go back to that open date,
that first open date. I walked off of that field on that
Wednesday, and man, it’s like abuse out there. I can
ignore it. I can kind of control my environment and live life.
But for these young people, in the digital world they live in,

they can’t do that. They live a life where they cannot do
that.
So just to see them — sometimes you get to an open date,
and I’ve been on teams where an open date is a disaster,
and you’re trying to work, you’re trying to come up with
plans for improvement. But just to see this group, man,
they were like, Coach, what do we do, what do we need to
do.
Yeah, I mean, just passion and energy and the way they
worked that week and that Wednesday practice, I’ll never
forget that. I walked off that field and said, that’s the best
practice I’ve been associated with in 20 years of college
football. So at that point, I’m like, we’ve got to figure this
out.
I think Tennessee was a turning point. I think in that locker
room after the game, that was when it was like, okay, we
can do this, and I think obviously Kentucky, another open
date, what we experienced in Jacksonville. I just think
hope is powerful, man. Just proud of these guys, man.
Sometimes you’ve got to go through stuff. They’re different
because they went through that. They don’t really care
what anybody thinks. They care what the people around
them think. They care about doing their job and being
accountable and being responsible to the people around
them. I think what they’ve been through has forced them to
do that, and I can say the same thing.
Football is a conditional game. You’ve got to find
something that’s unconditional. Pretty good crew. That
was fun. That was fun.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports.

University of Florida Football
Media Conference
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Gainesville, Florida, USA
DJ Lagway
Press Conference

Florida 24, Ole Miss 17
Q. What does this mean for you guys to have been
able to stay the course this season and to get to this
point, because it was a rough September, and now you
guys are really finding your stride.
DJ LAGWAY: It’s been great. September was very rough,
but we persevered and we continued to work and just
continued to trust in what Coach Napier was preaching to
us, and I feel like all of our hard work is starting to pay off
now.
Q. What is it about Billy that he’s able to keep you
guys going forward?
DJ LAGWAY: There’s something about Coach Nape. He’s
a different guy and he’s just amazing to follow and just to
see how he leads through the good, through the bad and
through the ugly, he’s going to be the same, and that’s all
you can respect, and I love Coach Nape.
Q. Defense held them to three points in the second
half. Just your ability to close out the game, what that
meant to you guys in the offense and them continuing
to get stops in the red zone?
DJ LAGWAY: Man, it was amazing. Defense came to
play. I felt like all of our special teams, offense and
defense, everybody just came to play, and it was a great
team win. Everybody did their job, and it was just amazing.
Q. When did you feel this starting to turn this season?
DJ LAGWAY: I’d really say Mississippi State and then
after the bye week we kind of had a mentality that we could
compete with anybody. It’s just us against the world, and
we’re going out there and battle and compete every single
day.
Q. Obviously there’s been a lot of talk about the
connection between you and Elijhah Badger but just
seeing it translate against a top-10 team of all people,

what do you think sets you and him as a duo apart
from the rest of the competition?
DJ LAGWAY: You know, I’d just say I feel like the
chemistry with all of my receivers, I feel like I have a great
connection with everybody. I feel like I know them
individually, and just having that relationship off the field, I
feel that plays a big part.
Me and Badge have been connecting a lot recently. He’s
been making a heck of a lot of plays for me, and it’s great
to have a senior veteran like him to help me on and off the
field, so it’s been great.
Q. Obviously you mentioned having the connection
with all your receivers. Being a centerpiece of this
team so early in your career, it’s a daunting task, but
you’ve very clearly handled it well. What do you think
has allowed you to succeed to this point, and how do
you look to keep building on it going forward?
DJ LAGWAY: Yeah, really nothing but God. God has
been leading me throughout this whole journey, through
my whole journey just playing football. It’s just a blessing
to have just amazing teammates, amazing coaches around
me to develop me, and it’s been amazing just to see how
everybody rallies behind me, and it’s truly a blessing.
Q. Just talk about Montrell (indiscernible)?
DJ LAGWAY: Yeah, it’s always great to have No. 1 in the
backfield with me, man. He’s been a great leader since
day one, since I stepped on campus, and it’s just awesome
to be back there in the backfield with him. He’s a heck of a
player. He makes a lot of good plays, picks up protections
very well, and I think he’s leading the young guys in the
same direction. It’s just great to have a player like Montrell
Johnson.
Q. I know you were asked about the receivers before
and about the seniors. Talk about DK, Elijhah, and
how this season you’ve relied on those guys to make
your job easier?
DJ LAGWAY: Yeah, those guys have been great

resources on and off the field, like I said. They’re great
leaders. They have their different styles of leadership, but
they definitely are great leaders, and I appreciate those
guys for real.
Q. Back in Willis, you were kind of a man among boys,
but how do you explain being able to throw passes
with people hanging all over you? You had three or
four great escapes today. How do you keep your head
in the situation?
DJ LAGWAY: You know, we practice situations like this
every day. Believe it or not, we do ball security, we do
pocket moments every single day and every off period that
we have, any special teams periods we’re doing ball
security drills and pocket movement stuff. I’d just say from
the development of Coach O’Hara, Coach Nape and just
the plan that they have, we prepare, and those situations
that I’ve seen out there on Saturday hasn’t been the first
time I’ve practiced those situations. So I’d just say the
preparation from those guys has been amazing.
Q. I don’t know if you’ve been asked about this yet this
year, but how often do you hear the “DJ Lagway”
chants and what does that do for you?
DJ LAGWAY: To be honest, it’s such a team sport. I really
don’t pay attention to that, man. It’s all about the Gators,
man. No player is bigger than the program, than the
brand. That’s how I see it. Just having my guys rally
behind me and now even some of my teammates make
jokes about it because they know I don’t really care about
that type of stuff. You know, it’s a blessing, but like I said,
it’s Gators football over everything. Nobody is bigger than
the brand.
Q. On that note, Lane Kiffin this week talked about the
lag way effect and how this team plays differently
when you’re behind center. How much have you felt
that the last two weeks since you returned?
DJ LAGWAY: I feel it a lot, man. That’s why I’m so
thankful to have a group of guys around me that trust in me
and believe in me since day one that they’re going to have
my back through the good, the bad and the ugly, and that’s
all you can ask for, especially at the quarterback position
when you’re depending on a lot of other guys to make
plays for you and to protect you and to get the ball back for
you. It’s just truly a blessing to have such amazing
teammates.
Q. Last week you talked about the offensive line and
how they kept you up and no sacks. Today you got
caught a few times. I know you’ve probably gotten
away from worrying what will happen if you get

sacked, but can you talk about getting up after each of
those sacks, and on the offensive line itself today, I
know that this team was — Ole Miss was a much better
defensive line in that regard.
DJ LAGWAY: My offensive line battled their butts off, and
I’m so thankful for those guys. They come every day
willing to work, and we always communicate about little
things that we’re seeing protection-wise and really just
having those guys around me, I know they’re going to give
me their all and I’m going to give them my all. Those guys
are just tremendous. I couldn’t ask for a better front five,
seriously.
Q. We saw you scramble a little bit, too, today, and I
know you didn’t run much last week. Is that a sign
you’re feeling better physically?
DJ LAGWAY: Yes, sir, I’m feeling better each week. I
didn’t have any set backs during the game, so I’m just
continuing to get better and continuing the recovery
process. So it’s good.
Q. It was senior day for Graham Mertz. Talk about the
relationship you’ve had and what that has meant to
you in getting you to this point.
DJ LAGWAY: Man, Graham means everything to me.
He’s like a big brother to me. He’s taught me the ropes,
man. Since I got here in January, there was never no egos
in it. It’s always just been him mentoring me and leading
me and teaching me how to be a professional, especially at
this level, so it’s been amazing to have Graham.
Q. You talked on the defensive performance at the
beginning of this, but what was it like seeing Bryce
getting back-to-back picks?
DJ LAGWAY: Man, it was great just see how those guys
work each and every day. At the beginning of the season
they were getting a little talk-back stuff about them, but
they came every single day and battled and worked and
persevered. People had to step up and play big roles due
to injuries, but I felt like everybody continued to get better,
and I’m just thankful to have those guys on the other side.
Just working against them every day is getting me better
and developing me, so it’s been great.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports

University of Florida Football
Media Conference
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Gainesville, Florida, USA
Bryce Thornton
Press Conference

Florida 24, Ole Miss 17
Q. What did you see on those two interceptions late in
the game?
BRYCE THORNTON: I just seen the ball in the air, and I
just told myself, it’s time to go make a play.
Q. The deep ball, it was a little bit overthrown, but did
you get a sense that you had a really good read on it?
BRYCE THORNTON: Yes, I think it was Shemar James
that was in coverage. He played real good coverage
underneath, and it gave me time to see the whole picture
so I could go make a play.
Q. Coach Napier mentioned that he had seen you
every week in the training office working your way
back from injury. What does that time that you put into
that mean to you now that it paid off with a career high
in tackles?
BRYCE THORNTON: Oh, it means everything. Coming
off injury, it was big for me because I never had an injury
that put me out. So just trying to stay mentally locked in
and all the coaches, all the players helping me, so it really
meant a lot.
Q. I want to go back to the Georgia game over in
Jacksonville because that was 20-20 against the No. 2
team at the time in Georgia. You came out of there
losing that game, but did the confidence start to grow
at that point? With DJ being out at that point who
knows what could have happened. It seems like this
team has started to roll since then. Do you suspect
that, as well? Talk about what it has been like this last
month.
BRYCE THORNTON: I feel like the team, I feel like
everybody is just coming together. I feel like that’s the
biggest thing with this team, especially the seniors. They
helped a lot with this, trying to get the team together. Even
after the losses, still trying to stay as one. I feel like after

that game it really showed everybody we have glimpses.
We’re just trying to put it on full display.
Q. What have you been dealing with physically, and
have you ever had a two-interception game in your
life?
BRYCE THORNTON: I had a little ankle problem, but I’m
out there, so I feel good. I only had a two-interception
game one time, sophomore year. It’s good to bring back
memories.
Q. Aaron Gates goes out there, play of the game. How
much did everyone have to step up in the secondary
without him?
BRYCE THORNTON: Aaron Gates going down meant a
lot to me. I’m very close with Aaron, so it kind of affected
me, and I just thought, I’ve got to play for Aaron. I thought
everybody came together, especially in the back end, and
came together, like we’re going to do this for Aaron.
Q. Billy talked about the open date practice and then
the Tennessee game and said those were kind of
turning points. Would you talk about how those
affected you guys because it seemed y’all were kind of
down in the dumps leading up to that open date.
BRYCE THORNTON: I feel like especially the leaders and
the seniors came and brought the team together and we
was like, how do we want the season to be. I feel that
played a big part, and we all said we don’t want to go out
like this, so I feel like everybody came together and we
started working even harder and I feel like it’s starting to
show now.
Q. A lot of progress from the first game up until now.
Looking ahead to this next week with FSU, how excited
are you guys about this game? How much confidence
do you have going into that game? What are the
expectations that you guys are setting upon
yourselves for the end of the season?
BRYCE THORNTON: I feel like we’re all even keel. I feel
like we don’t get too high, too low. I know it’s a rivalry

game. I feel like we’re going to come out there in practice
and do everything we’ve been doing to be a great defense.
So I feel like coming into this game, it’s just a rivalry game,
but we’re going to show up.
Q. When you look at everything that’s happened
throughout the course of the year, I know we went
back to the Georgia game, but even you go back three
games in and you’re 1-2. Talk about the changes with
the coaching staff and where you are now with the
different things they were working on with you guys?
BRYCE THORNTON: I feel like the coaching staff has
changed, but I feel like the players out here, I feel like
individually and as a whole, we just all came together and
we wanted to change how Florida was looked at. I feel like
that’s the biggest thing with us, just trying to show
everybody that we can do it.
Q. What’s it say about this defense, obviously Ole
Miss came in No. 1 offensive team, they got 456 yards
in this game but you guys bent but didn’t break this
whole game?
BRYCE THORNTON: I felt like this defense, everybody
played a part, and the D-line had a great game. I feel like
they helped, especially the back end contain, made him
throw — especially for my pick, difficult throws, and I feel
like the linebackers played a big part in my picks, also, just
getting him to overthrow the ball, and then the DBs, we’re
always going to be together. So I feel like just the whole,
we’re always coming together.
Q. How much fun has it been the last two weeks to
come into the locker room after beating ranked teams?
BRYCE THORNTON: Oh, it feels great. I feel like we
should be ranked, so we’re going to keep performing, and I
feel like everybody is going to see how Florida is supposed
to be.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports.

2024 Florida Football Postgame Quotes

Florida Student-Athletes
Florida 24, No. 9 Ole Miss 17
November 23, 2024

1 Montrell Johnson Jr., Senior Running Back

On what it felt like to be back out there and go out with a home win…
“It felt good to go out there. It was a beautiful night to go get my last win here, go out with the guys. It
felt good.”
On watching Jadan Baugh and Ja’Kobi Jackson shine in his absence…
“It was kind of tough for me because that was like my first time missing any games in college. Just kind
of focusing on grinding and trying to work my way back. Like you saw last week, I got a couple
carries. And this week, I shot to the moon. So yeah, just continue to keep working.”
On if he ever considered on hanging it up until the NFL Combine…
“A couple times I thought that. On the front, Week 2, it wasn’t getting better and I was kind of
doubting myself. I just stayed faithful and kept praying to God, and kept working.”
On what it means for the work to pay off today…
“It means a lot to me, just knowing that I can come back from all types of adversity…”
On the fight and improvement this team has shown the past couple of weeks…
“This team has done a lot. Like you guys have been seeing, after that first bye week we just took off
after that. I don’t know what happened. But the competitiveness, it rised to another level. I’m proud
of those guys that took that next step, and we’re becoming the program that everyone knew we
could be.”

17 Chimere Dike, Senior Wide Receiver

On how validating this win was…
“Yeah, I mean I think that we’ve been close a couple of times and eventually you get sick of that. To
be able to get these last two wins is huge for our team and our program, and I’m proud of the
resilience the guys showed and the way that we performed.”
On channeling his emotions into a positive performance…
“Yeah, it was emotional. Definitely could have cleaned some things up in the first half, but you know
I’m blessed. I thank God for all the things that he’s put in my life and this team. I just wanted to be in
the moment, I wanted to show gratitude, and I wanted to be thankful, so I was all day. I’m just very
thankful.”
On how much this win meant for Coach Napier…
“Coach Napier does a great job of keeping us focused on us and our improvement. Obviously, we
are super thankful for the fans but I think that is something he did through adversity, he makes us
realize that it was us going out and performing on the field. I think that you can have negative stuff
about you and I think you can also listen to positive stuff, either way we got to go back out tomorrow
and watch our film, learn from it and then get better next week.”

On maintaining a positive perspective for the younger guys…
“Yeah, I want to be able to be the same guy every single day. I think that when you are consistent,
that’s when you see the results and whether things are going your way or not, you have got to go to
work and this team kind of has followed that. I am just thankful to be able to impact the young guys
in a positive way hopefully and I am just thankful to be Gator.”

99 Cam Jackson, Senior Defensive Lineman

On how special the Senior Day win was…
“It meant a lot. Like Coach Napier said, we have been working the whole offseason. To get this win in
my last game in the Swamp meant a lot.”
On how satisfying the win is after the way the season started…
“In the beginning of the season, everything did not go how we wanted it to. But we turned things
around by holding each other to a higher standard, coming out here and competing every Saturday
and especially at practice, being out there and competing. I feel like once everyone got ahold of
everything, we turned it around quick.”
On his motivation the last two weeks…
“It is my senior year, so I know I have to do my job and help these guys out. Me and Caleb [Banks] are
always competing with each other. On the sideline, we will tell each other we are about to go get a
sack and then we just compete with each other. It is great playing alongside Caleb.”
On Jaxson Dart…
“He is a good player. Our main thing with him is to keep him in the pocket and to not let him break
out. He had a few big runs today, but keeping him contained and getting pressure on him was the
goal.”
On what it has been like shutting teams down the last two weeks in the fourth quarter…
“I look at it as crunch time. It was 24-17 and they got the ball back and they told us it would be on us
to get a stop. I feel like everyone just pinned their ears back and went and did what we had to do
and got a stop. It was getting pressure on Dart and the pick to end the game. That was great.”

• This game was the 26th all-time meeting between Ole Miss and Florida.
• Florida now leads the series 13-12-2 dating back to its origin in 1926.
• Ole Miss is now 6-5-1 in Gainesville, while Florida leads 6-2 in Oxford.
• This was Ole Miss’ first trip to Gainesville since 2015 (W, 38-10).
  CAPTAINS
• Tre Harris (WR), Nate Kalepo (OL), JJ Pegues (DT), Caden Prieskorn (TE)
  STARTERS
• QB Jaxson Dart made his team-leading 35th-straight start against Florida.
• Other notable starting streaks include S Trey Washington (26th) and S John Saunders Jr. (24th).
• WR Micah Davis made his first start as a Rebel at running back.
  GENERAL NOTES
• Attendance for today’s game was 89,942.
  OFFENSIVE NOTES
• QB Jaxson Dart went 24-for-41 passing with two touchdowns, surpassing 75 passing touchdowns for his overall career … He sits at 76 at the conclusion of today’s game.
• His 323 yards through the air is his seventh 300-yard game this year, tying Matt Corral’s 2020 season for third all-time at Ole Miss.
• Dart joined Eli Manning as the only quarterbacks in Ole Miss history with more than 10,000 passing yards in an Ole Miss career … Dart now has 10,051 to Manning’s 10,119.
• Dart passed Manning for the third-most passing yards in a single season at Ole Miss, reaching 3,732 … Dart also jumped three spots in Ole Miss’ single-season total offense
  leaderboard, as he reached 4,107.
• After 394 yards of total offense, Dart has the sixth-most by an SEC quarterback in the conference’s history … As a Rebel, Dart sits at 11,448.
• Fueled by a season-long 35-yard rush, Dart set the record for most career rushing yards by an Ole Miss quarterback … Dart used a team-leading 71 yards rushing to pass Corral
  (1,338), and has 1,378 ground yards at Ole Miss.
• WR Tre Harris checked several boxes with his one catch of the day, a 43-yard score in the second quarter … He surpassed the 2,000-yards receiving mark in his Ole Miss career
  (2,015), passing JR Ambrose for 10th all-time at Ole Miss in the process.
• His touchdown ties him with three others for eighth-most in a Rebel jersey … It was also the 29th of his career, tying him with Colorado’s LaJohntay Wester for third-most among
  all active FBS receivers.
• Harris eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season for the first time in his career, becoming the sixth Rebel to break 1K in a season (seventh occurrence) … He took the second-
  fewest games to accomplish the milestone in Ole Miss history, behind Elijah Moore, who did it in seven games in 2020.
• Harris passed Dontario Drummond for sixth all-time in Ole Miss single-season history in receiving yards with 1,030 … His catch was his 60th this season, tying him with Malik
  Heath for 18th in Ole Miss single-season history.
• Ole Miss turned defense into offense after an interception by S John Saunders Jr. … Dart connected with WR Cayden Lee for a 22-yard score … Harris and Lee’s scores
  came within three minutes of each other, and it was the first time Lee crossed the goal line since Week 1 against Furman … He finished the game with a team-leading 94 yards.
• TE Caden Prieskorn’s 10-yard catch in the second quarter was his 49th as a Rebel, tying Curtis Weathers for the eighth-most career receptions by a tight end in Ole Miss history
  … Prieskorn ended the day with two catches for 22 yards.
• The Rebels incorporated DT JJ Pegues into several short yardage situations, with Pegues coming away with a career-high 19 yards rushing.
  DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Six Rebels had five or more tackles against the Gators.
• DEs Suntarine Perkins and Princely Umanmielen each reached 10.5 sacks for the season, which serves as a tie for the second-most by Ole Miss defenders in program history.
• Perkins and S Louis Moore led the Rebels in tackles with 10 each, securing his third double-figure tackling performance this season … For Moore, his statline is his best at Ole
  Miss.
• DT Walter Nolen had the best outing of his career, picking up eight tackles with seven unassisted, both career bests … He secured three tackles for loss, a sack and a pass
  breakup.
• Nolen led the Rebels in tackles for loss and tied the team lead for sacks with Umanmielen.
• S John Saunders Jr. picked off his third pass of the season early in the second quarter, his sixth as a Rebel … Saunders is now tied for the sixth-most among all active FBS
  players with 11 interceptions in his overall career.
• The Ole Miss defense held Florida QB DJ Lagway to only 10 completed passes, the fewest allowed by the Rebels this season.
  SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• K Caden Davis cemented himself as one of Ole Miss’ most prolific scorers after a five-point performance against Florida … He passed Brian Lee for the seventh-most points
  scored by a Rebel and sixth-most points kicking, concluding the game with 211 for his Rebel career.
• Davis also reached significant mile markers in the single-season category … Davis ended the game with 112 points on the year, passing Luke Logan for third-most by a Rebel
  in a single season.
• P Fraser Masin had four punts for 175 yards … Masin averaged 43.8 yards per punt and a long of 54.
  SERIES INFORMATION

FLORIDA 24, OLE MISS 17

POSTGAME NOTES

2024 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Head Coach
Florida 24, No. 9 Ole Miss 17
November 23, 2024

Opening statement…
“Obviously, a very disappointing outcome today, a lot of missed opportunities. 0-3 in the red zone,
get no points up, missed field goal and you get stopped twice on fourth downs, you’re going to lose
the turnover margin. Tough place to play against a team that has played really good when that
quarterback plays, credit to him. He’s a really good player and made a lot of plays in the first half
when we had him back there, so really disappointing in the outcome. Obviously, a lot was at stake
and we didn’t come through…. a lot of missed opportunities… red zone chances… ball in our hand
to score a touchdown tying the game and it didn’t go our way sometimes.”
On the number of dropped passes…
“Very unusual, I think somebody jinxed this weekend. Somebody said Jordan’s analytics were 100
percent catch percentage. Soon as they said that, I was like I wish you wouldn’t have said that. I
don’t know… I don’t know if that corner when you look up, it’s where that sun’s at coming that
direction, but that’s a great play by Jackson, a great throw. Obviously, wish it would have been
caught, it would’ve been a much different storyline of a great game by Jackson and how he
overcame adversity in a tough place to play.”
On Davis running the ball…
“Just trying to get a spark back there with some speed and we hadn’t had a lot of success in the run
game, and that’s lasted about a month, so just trying something different.”
On the first deep ball interception…
“Very unusual by him, obviously wish we could take it back. Completely unusual to even throw the
ball in that situation. He’s usually really good at that. I said to him right before, we have plenty of time
here, we don’t need to take shots. He went very aggressive on it. The guy made a lot of really good
plays today and I wish he would have caught the one, because we might have a much different
storyline right now.”
On going for it on the fourth downs…
“I think that those were probably pretty easy analytic decisions when it was less than two yards. JJ’s
percentage coming in had been great in those. So, it is what it is when you play that way. He’s made
a lot of those plays, too.”
On explaining losing in close games…
“Its football, it happens. Year before it was the opposite, all of the close ones went our way. So,
sometimes the ball bounces that way and sometimes we’ve got opportunities to make plays and
situations. That’s a pretty easy story when they’re 2-for-2 in the red zone and we’re 0-for-3. We
outgained them by 100 yards, but they win the turnover margin, so again, tells you how irrelevant
yards are versus scoring in the red zone and turnovers.”

On holding the team together…
“It’s gonna be really challenging and we’re just in today. I haven’t gotten to tomorrow yet. There was

a lot at stake here and a lot of disappointed players and coaches in the locker room. This is the new-
age setup when there’s the playoff line and you know where that it is a little bit. A third loss doesn’t

get you there, So, it’s just a different world, almost NFL-ish. Get knocked out of the playoffs and still
got a game to play, but obviously this is an important game. But we’ll get that in tomorrow.”
On defending Florida’s run game…
“Yeah, I was concerned about it. I think they have a really good offensive line. I think those backs are
really good. Talking to other coaches that played them, the one thing that stuck out was how hard
those guys run. So that was a concern, probably the biggest concern coming in, so we could make
them one dimensional and they ran really hard and did a really good job.”
On the Tre Harris injury…
“Yeah, it was a freaky situation. He got hit right on the same injury exactly right where it was and
dropped the ball because of it. So, obviously injury happened and so we had a lot of bad breaks
today, it is what it is. So, unfortunately it didn’t go our way today.”

2024 Florida Football Postgame Quotes

Ole Miss Student-Athletes
Florida 24, No. 9 Ole Miss 17
November 23, 2024

2 Jaxson Dart, Senior Quarterback

On the interception at the end of the game…
“Yeah, bad decision by me. I think the only thing I can really say right now is sorry, sorry to my
teammates, sorry to my coaches, sorry to the fans. Can’t lose this game. This one’s gonna hurt for a
really long time. I think that’s all I can really say is, I’m sorry.”
On the bye week preparation and practice heading into the game…
“I mean, I don’t think that really had anything to do with it. Just missed opportunities. Felt like we
moved the ball. Didn’t capitalize on third-and-shorts, fourth-and-shorts, weren’t good enough. A lot
of that’s on me.”
On Florida’s fourth quarter adjustments on defense…
“They did a good job against LSU in the fourth quarter and I thought they did a really good job
against us. I thought they finished the game well. And, like I said, we had opportunities and we need
to capitalize.”
On the mindset going forward with the College Football Playoffs…
“I don’t know what is going to happen, but I really want to finish the year off the right way.”
On not being able to win out…
“I don’t know how to describe it right now. We put a lot of time and effort in and it sucks when we lose
these games.”
On the Tre Harris injury…
“It sucks. You never want to see your best friend or a teammate go down. He has done everything he
could to come back. You feel horrible in that situation.”

11 Chris Paul, Junior Linebacker

On the locker room vibe…
“We have faced adversity before. It is not the outcome we wanted, but we made more mistakes
than they did today. Nothing against Florida, they are a great team. They put up fights with top
teams before and they actually won some of those games. The team that made less mistakes today
won and that was the outcome.”
On the challenges facing the run today…
“We have to get better at communication and put guys in the right places to make plays.”
On DJ Lagway’s escaping potential sacks…
“It is very deflating. DJ Lagway is a great quarterback. You can tell he is the leader of the offense. He
has a bigger body but also knows how to move and run. He has a big arm no matter what position
he is in, so props to him and props to the Florida offense.”
On regrouping after this game…
“We need to go in and fix the things we messed up today. Hounding on the small things and get
those things corrected and come together as a whole team. Putting our pride aside and know that
we have to go out on Friday and take care of business.”
On the challenges facing the team this week…
“Keeping spirits high. Everyone is pretty down right now. I always look at it like this. There are bigger
things in life than a football game. People out there are actually struggling in this world. It is all about
keeping spirits high. It could be way worse than it actually is. The loss today was tough but I feel like
we are going to be pretty good going into this Friday.”