2025 Florida Football Postgame Notes
Florida 23, Mississippi State 21

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field – Gainesville, Fla.

HOMECOMING GATORS WIN FIFTH-STRAIGHT HOME SEC GAME

• The Gators won their seventh-straight Homecoming game while claiming their fifth-consecutive
  home SEC victory, which is the longest-such active streak in the conference.
  o It has been exactly 400 days since the Gators last lost a home SEC game (Sept. 14 vs
  Texas A&M), as Florida is 9-4 at home vs. SEC foes under HC Billy Napier.
• The Gators posted season highs in explosive plays (14) and tackles for loss (11) vs. MSU.
• Florida has a plus-17-point differential this season (157-140).
• The Gators rose to 7-1 in their last-eight home games dating back through October 2024.
• Florida is the only FBS team to start two true freshman wide receivers (WR Vernell Brown III
  and WR Dallas Wilson) in the same game this season (doing so twice) and is the only FBS squad
  to be led by true freshmen in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
• Week 8 marked the 16th-straight sellout of The Swamp and the 20th under Napier.
• Napier tabbed the 62nd win of his career, good for fifth-most amongst active SEC head coaches
  since 2018.
  OFFENSIVE NOTES
• RB Jadan Baugh rushed for a career-high 150 yards on 23 carries for 6.5 YPC while scoring one
  rushing touchdown.
  o Baugh’s 150 rush yards are the most by a Gator in over two years – since Trevor Etienne
  rushed for 172 yards vs. Tennessee on Sept. 16, 2023.
• Baugh eclipsed 100 rush yards for the third time already this season (fourth time in his career).
• Baugh punched in his 11th-career rushing touchdown including his fourth of the season to give
  Florida its first lead at 10-7 in the second quarter.
• Baugh caught multiple passes for the fifth-straight game, marking the first-five games of his
  career with multiple receptions.
  o Baugh has an SEC-leading 19 catches among running backs for 115 yards this season.
• WR Vernell Brown III led UF with a career-high 95 receiving yards and also had a team-high five
  receptions.
• Brown III and WR Dallas Wilson started alongside one another for the second-straight week,
  marking the only two times an FBS team has started a pair of true freshman receivers in the
  same game this season.
  o They are the first true freshmen duo to start in the same game in program history.
  o Across the three games the rookie duo has played together, they have accumulated 25
  catches, 399 yards and three touchdowns.
• Brown III is on track to lead the Gators in catches and receiving yards this season. If he does, it
  will be the first time a true freshman wideout has paced the Gators in both categories in the
  same year.
• Improving to 9-5 as a starter, QB DJ Lagway completed 20-of-34 passes for 280 yards and a
  116.2 rating.
• Lagway’s 50-yard completion in the second quarter marked his 16th of 40-plus in his career.
• Lagway surpassed 250 career completions (260) in the win.
• TE Amir Jackson hauled in a career long reception of 18 yards in the second quarter.
• RB KD Daniels scored his second-career rushing touchdown including his first of the season to
  extend Florida’s advantage to 20-7 in the fourth quarter.
• Making his team-high 29th-consecutive start as a Gator, TE Hayden Hansen caught four passes
  for 23 yards.
• Florida totaled 298 yards of offense in the first half alone, finishing with 452 yards on the game.
• Florida averaged 7.5 yards per carry to MSU’s 2.5 YPC in the first half.
• The Gators have rushed for over 100 yards in four of seven games this season and 36 of 45
  contests during the Napier era.
• Florida has punched in a rushing score in four of seven games this season and 37 of 45 contests
  under Napier.
• Florida eclipsed 400 total yards for the third time this season and 19th time since the start of the
  Napier era.
  DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Florida finished with a season-high 11 tackles for loss on top of four sacks to MSU’s two.
• The Gators limited the Bulldogs to 3.3 yards per carry while snapping QB Blake Shapen’s FBS-
  best, 21-game passing touchdown streak.
• Through seven games, the Florida defense has allowed 131 offensive points (safety vs. USF and
  pick-six at LSU) for an average of 18.7 per game.
• Florida is allowing 20.0 PPG overall and 15.0 PPG in The Swamp this season.
• After allowing an opening drive touchdown, Florida held MSU scoreless on its following eight
  drives while holding them to seven points through three quarters.
• DL Micah Boireau iced the game with his first-career interception with 0:21 remaining in the
  fourth quarter and MSU driving in UF territory.
  o Boireau is the first UF defensive lineman with an interception in over three years – since
  Gervon Dexter vs. Kentucky on Sept. 24, 2022.
• The Gators have picked off opposing quarterbacks in five-straight games.
• Florida has recorded a takeaway in six of seven games this season and 18 of the last 20 contests.
  o The Gators have produced at least one turnover in 35 of 45 games in the Napier era.
• DB Alfonzo Allen Jr. and DB Jamroc Grimsley made their first-career starts, as S Jordan Castell’s
  30-game start streak was snapped.
  o Grimsley is UF’s first freshman starter at CB since Jason Marshall Jr. in 2021.
• Allen Jr. matched his career high in tackles (three) on the first drive of the game alone, finishing
  with the most by a Gator in a single game (15) since 2021 – quintupling his previous best.
  o Allen’s 15 tackles are the most by a Gator in a game in nearly four years – since Ty’Ron
  Hopper had 15 vs. Missouri on Nov. 20, 2021.
• EDGE Kamran James recorded a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks while tying his
  career high in tackles (six).
• DL Brien Taylor Jr. and James teamed up for a sack on third-and-eight to force a punt on
  Mississippi State’s second drive of the game.
• Florida followed with a fourth-down stop by forcing a turnover on downs on MSU’s third drive.
• DL Brendan Bett notched his second-career sack including his first as a Gator on third-and-five
  to force a three-and-out on MSU’s fourth drive of the game.
• Florida held MSU scoreless for the fourth-consecutive drive on their fifth drive of the game, as

Taylor Jr. registered his first-career forced fumble and EDGE Jayden Woods delivered his first-
career fumble recovery.

• Taylor Jr. tied his career high with 1.5 tackles for loss.
• Florida forced a three-and-out on MSU’s first drive of the second half (eighth drive of game).
• EDGE Kofi Asare posted his first sack as a Gator to help force a punt on MSU’s second drive of
  the second half (ninth drive of game).
• DB Lagonza Hayward logged his first-career tackle for loss and finished with a career-high 2.5
  TFLs and six tackles.
• DB Bryce Thornton eclipsed 100-career tackles (106).
• DB Ben Hanks III made his collegiate debut on defense.
• DL Joseph Mbatchou notched his first-career tackle for loss.
  SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• K Trey Smack went 2-for-2 on extra point attempts to remain perfect in his career (90 of 90).
• Smack went 3-for-3 on field goals, converting from 24 yards, 53 yards and 54 yards, and has now
  made 12-straight attempts since missing three in UF’s season opener.
• Smack’s 54-yarder is tied for the eighth-longest in program history (third-longest of his career).
• Smack made multiple 50-yard field goals in a game for the first time in his career.
• Smack now have eight makes of 50-plus in his career, including three this season.
• Smack is now 21-of-29 from 40-plus yards in his career.
• P Tommy Doman punted four times for an average of 40.3 yards, highlighted by a long of 45 and
  one inside the 20-yard line.

EXPLOSIVE PLAYS (14)

• WR J. Michael Sturdivant (from QB DJ Lagway): 20-yard reception, first quarter
• RB Jadan Baugh: 10-yard rush, first quarter
• RB Jadan Baugh: 10-yard rush, first quarter
• WR Aidan Mizell (from Lagway): 18-yard reception, second quarter
• RB Jadan Baugh: 19-yard touchdown rush, second quarter
• WR Vernell Brown III (from Lagway): 50-yard reception, second quarter
• RB Jadan Baugh: 12-yard rush, second quarter
• RB Jadan Baugh: 17-yard rush, second quarter
• TE Amir Jackson (from Lagway): 18-yard reception, second quarter
• WR Vernell Brown III (from Lagway): 18-yard reception, third quarter
• RB Jadan Baugh: 13-yard carry, third quarter
• RB Jadan Baugh: 12-yard carry, third quarter
• WR J. Michael Sturdivant: 19-yard reception, third quarter
• WR TJ Abrams (from Lagway): 26-yard reception, third quarter
  SERIES UPDATES
• Today’s Homecoming matchup vs Mississippi State marked the 57th meeting between two of
  the founding members of the SEC, with UF winning their third-straight vs. MSU.
• The Gators extended their commanding lead in the series to 36-19-2 and improved to 20-8-1 all-
  time in Gainesville.
• Florida has won 17 of the last 18 meetings vs. MSU in Gainesville.
• The Gators have won 16 of the last 21, 12 of the last 16 and five of the last six matchups.
• Coach Napier improved to 2-0 against the Bulldogs, notching a road and home win in the past
  two seasons, respectively.
• Florida rose to 75-25-2 in Homecoming games all-time while winning its seventh in a row.
• Napier maintained his perfect 4-0 record on Homecoming weekend.
  THE SCORING STREAK
• Florida has scored in 468 consecutive games — an NCAA record and 55 games longer than any
  other college football team in history.
  o Florida 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

• UF Game Captains: #77 OL Knijeah Harris, #24 EDGE Kamran James, #29 LB Jaden Robinson
• Coin Toss: MSU won the toss and elected to receive; Florida defended the south endzone.
• Attendance: 90,203

University of Florida Football
Media Conference
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Gainesville, Florida, USA
Billy Napier
Press Conference

Florida 23, Mississippi State 21
BILLY NAPIER: Let me tell you something, I have a ton of
respect for Jeff Lebby. He and I kind of grew up the same
way. He’s a football coach. He’s a good person. He’s got
a good team. They fought, they battled. This is their third
SEC game in a row where they’re in the fight, with
Tennessee, Texas A&M and the Gators tonight. Their
team has improved from year one to year two. Hats off to
Mississippi State.
I think it was awesome in there today. I think the fans were
incredible. I do think that they helped our players get it
done. We were really excited about the opportunity to
represent this place. I think that was the emphasis all
week. The effort was there.
There was quite a bit of adversity in the game just in
general. I was joking with Derron and Vinnie a while ago.
They say coaching in the SEC is like dog years, okay? I
want to tell you something, Derron and Vinnie, they got
their seven years’ worth tonight.
We got multiple injuries in the secondary, players not
available. Basically played with the backups and some
threes. Bryce Thornton was out there directing the troops
and did a really good job.
Some standouts, Alfonzo Allen makes 15 tackles. A
walk-on that’s earned a scholarship at different times in his
career. Huge fourth-down play. I mean, incredible. The
guy is a football player. Not the biggest guy, fastest guy,
but instinctive. He stepped up in the team in a major way.
Is that guy even here 10 years from now? Probably not,
right? He was clutch.
Trey Smack was ice in his veins. Just continues. I think
he’s perfect since the opener, just showing who he is. That
rubs off on the team. You can see it when he does it.
Jadan Baugh has a career high 150-plus.
In general I think that the defense kind of settled down

there. We won the turnover margin 4-2. If you count the
missed field goal, turnovers and downs. DJ did throw a
couple of interceptions, but he made a lot of plays.
Quarterback rating is 116. Close to having a big day.
I do think just really proud of the group, with the way they
handled last week. It was tough. They showed up to work.
I think for young people, to be able to eliminate
distractions and show up and do very hard work. It’s not
easy what we ask these guys to do. They were
well-prepared. They showed up and played. We had a
bunch of guys banged up.
Did have some injuries that you’ll ask about. Did have a
few penalties, touchdown called back, couple others that
will be debatable.
But I’m proud of the team. I’m thankful for the fans
showing up and encouraging the team, being in the middle
of the fight with the group. This league, man, you win a
game, doesn’t matter who you put out there, I think you’re
seeing that you take ’em.
It’s a good win for the Gators. What questions we got?
Q. You’d be about 70 after four years in the SEC with
dog years.
BILLY NAPIER: (Smiling).
Q. Take us through your emotions from the third down
call with DJ to their call at the end when it looks like
they’re going to get a field goal. Is that complete roller
coaster?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, I mean, I think it’s situational
football. Look, we gave up some big passes over the top
today. Obviously the secondary not having the vets out
there contributed to that, right?
A lot of those calls, everybody sees the corner chasing the
guy, but in reality there’s some of those where the safety is
the problem, right? Basically played a light box the
majority of the game, try to take care of the secondary. I
thought the front really stood up.

Look, they got their rushing yards at times. But I think
knowing who we’re playing the back end, I think we did
what we needed to do.
I think we had two good runs. We got to it third-and-one,
called a movement pass, tagged that with surrender. DJ
did what he’s supposed to do. He’s supposed to take the
sack, make them use the final timeout. They did a nice job
matching the pattern. It’s that simple.
Then obviously what a call. Ron made a terrific call there.
Knowing the ball is coming out quick, they’ve been
throwing inside, breaking routes. Mike drops right in the
middle of it. Really good call in that situation, knowing
where the kick line was at.
Yeah, I mean, I think good situational football. Good call
on defense. Obviously we had our chances there to get a
first down. They did a nice job stopping us.
Q. With the way Jadan was playing, was there any
consideration on the third-and-one to have him run the
ball?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, no, there was debate about it. We
tried to win the game there. We went with the movement
pass, so…
Very similar like the third-and-one earlier in the game. We
called a movement pass, hit Aidan Mizell. Talking about
maybe should have ran it on that one, too. We’re not,
’cause it worked. Sometimes they work, sometimes they
don’t work.
Q. Among the injuries, Jordan Castell, what occurred
with him pregame?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, man, tough competitor, Jordan
Castell. Worked his butt off all week to try to get prepared
to play. This is the type of scenario where you get an
injection, tough it out, try to play. He wasn’t able to do that.
He felt like he would be able to do it. Got minimal work
throughout the week. Just the closer we got to the game, it
wasn’t getting better.
He has a grade two AC sprain which is significant. For him
to even consider playing I think is a credit to him. But he
wasn’t able to get that done.
Mike Caraway played with a hip pointer today. Really
sucked it up for the team and played injured and showed
some toughness and played well.
We had some guys. Sharif goes down. Lagonza Hayward

is in the game. Devin Moore goes down. Now we got all
rookies out there at corner, right? Grimsley, Hanks,
basically three freshmen, J’Vari. We got our monies’ worth
out of that crew today.
Q. What’s that say about the young defenders’ ability
to develop as the season has gone on?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, look, we’ve been talking about this
situation, this scenario, every week, holding our breath.
We’ve been giving them reps. We’ve been coaching ’em,
developing ’em so they could be ready when they get this
opportunity, so…
Hats off to that crew for stepping up, making some plays.
Obviously gave up a few. But in general they made a lot,
too. They’re smiling in there. Hard work pays off. Those
guys got here in January, and they did a great job. We’re
banking reps for young players. It’s part of what we do.
You never know when your opportunity’s going to surface.
Hats off to that group for showing up and playing that way
today.
Q. A lot of emotion, excitement there at the end. As
you’re exiting the field, there’s a lot of fan unrest.
There’s a lot of uncertainty with you, what your future
holds. Where are you with that game-ending
reception? What do you think lies ahead for you right
now after this game?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, look, I would say that, yeah, I think
I’m built for it. I’m made for it. I chose the coaching
profession. I was called to coach. The good comes with
the bad, the bad comes with the good.
I do think the game’s about the players. I’m proud of the
players and the way they played. Never going to make
everybody happy. You get these leadership positions,
you’re in charge, these are the things that come with it,
right?
I love the game of football. I love the game.
Q. You’ve been through a lot of ups and downs over
the last four years. What was that message like in the
locker room in terms of talking to the guys after a win
like that?
BILLY NAPIER: Uncommon. I think this is equally as
hard. I think as it is, yeah, just I’m proud of the players,
man. I think it’s very uncommon for them to do what
they’ve done. I think that’s a tribute to the relationships
they have with each other, the loyalty that they have.
I think in this league, man, you got to show up and play

every week. I think they did that play. I’m proud of the
players. I think tough win last week, then to hit the reset
button, to show up and put full pads on on Wednesday and
do the type of work that we have to do to be prepared to
play.
Bunch of guys playing banged up out there. They’re doing
that because they care about this place. They wanted to
represent a certain way today, knowing it was
homecoming, knowing that alumni, former players. I said,
One day it’s going to be you sitting up there watching
playing, you’ll want to be proud of the team. If we’re doing
this the right way, this is the way it goes: They start here,
they finish here, they come back here.
The challenge was accepted. We got a win tonight.
Q. As DJ continues to develop, you look at the two
picks, what is the discussion with him on the sideline
in those situations?
BILLY NAPIER: Yeah, I just talked to him about it. I think
one of the cool things about having the video on the field is
he’s able to see immediately, he gets the feedback right
away, so there’s no uncertainty in his head. He can move
forward. He knows the mistakes. He knows the answers.
We have answers for him. Then he can move on to the
next possession, right?
He was a little bit late on both throws. If you take those
two out, what a day. What a day at the park, right? He
made a bunch of plays.
Look, if you are playing that position, it comes with the
territory. Your toughness and your resiliency, what type of
competitor you are is important.
For him to have the intangibles to continue to play, make
plays after those things happen I think is impressive to me
for a young player.
Yeah, very correctable. There’s answers on the tape. I
think that allows him to move forward and play the next
possession.
Q. When you look back on your four years here, every
single season you’ve had games impacted by injuries.
Have you ever looked in the mirror and sometimes
said, What did I do to deserve this? Snake bit or
something?
BILLY NAPIER: Injuries are part of the game. Every team
in the country’s dealing with ’em. I think when we’re living
in our house, we’re a lot more aware of the in-house
issues, but everybody’s got problems.

The key is you have to be solution-oriented and you have
to stay focused on things that you can control. But yeah,
injuries are part of the game. They’re one of the hardest
things about the game. The hardest part is the player, the
player going through the injury. There’s a ton of things that
go with injuries that are tough.
These guys, the missed time, the missed work, the anxiety
that comes with maybe feeling like they’re getting behind.
They want to be out there for their teammates. It’s a tough
part of the game.
Q. How is BB3 doing?
BILLY NAPIER: He’s doing good. He’s got an AC sprain.
We’ll have a little bit more clarity. He was out. He wasn’t
able to return. Wasn’t one of those categories where
maybe you could do some things to help it and he could
get back in the game.
Obviously he’ll be here tomorrow and we’ll be able to see
where he’s at next week.
Q. You mentioned your love for the game of football
and these players. How much do you desire to finish
out this season with them, finish what you started?
BILLY NAPIER: Man, I’m going to tell you something. I’m
going to enjoy this one tonight. That’s what I’m going to
do, okay? I’ll wake up tomorrow and we’ll worry about
what’s next.
We’re banged up. We need an open date. I know our
group will be excited about the next one, right?
Yeah, I’m going to go take a deep breath, get something
good to eat, prop my feet up on the house, hug on them
kids, Miss Sally, then tomorrow I’m going to wake up and
we’ll think about the next one.
Q. What are you going to eat?
BILLY NAPIER: We’ll see what Miss Sally has at the
house tonight.
Q. The emotion that you showed there with the love of
the game, do you sense this is it for you, tonight was
your last game with the Gators?
BILLY NAPIER: No, I think about our players, man. I think
about our players. That’s what I think about. I mean, I
think we work. That was a good testament to the entirety
of the group from a work ethic, commitment. The depth
was challenged. The entire process was challenged. Had

a lot of players play some of the best football of their
careers, then some unknowns step up out of nowhere and
make incredible plays. I think it’s a testament to the entire
organization.
Young people, that’s not normal, you know, to play with
that type of effort in a game where there’s a ton of
adversity for them to keep fighting and find a way. I think
it’s pretty special.
That’s what I love about the game, man. These guys can
learn a lot. That was a great memory there. I think there’s
a lot of life lessons for them in terms of what happened out
there today.
Thank you.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports

University of Florida Football
Media Conference
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Gainesville, Florida, USA
Jadan Baugh
Press Conference

Florida 23, Mississippi State 21
JADAN BAUGH: How y’all doing?
Q. Early on throwing the ball a lot, but finally came
around to you. Tell us about the night you just had,
150 yards.
JADAN BAUGH: I think it was a good game. We got a lot
of stuff we need to work on. Going into the bye week I feel
like we’re going to do a good job preparing the right way,
learning the game a lot more preparing for Georgia.
Q. A lot of uncertainty around Billy and his future.
What is the players’ sentiment?
JADAN BAUGH: Keep our head on straight. What’s going
on with Coach Nape, what’s up in the air about what
everybody is talking about, we stay together. Regardless
of the fact, we stay together.
Q. How does he handle it? He says he’s built for that.
JADAN BAUGH: Keeping us together. Being around
football is like a family. We always preach that everybody’s
in our circle and we’re going to practice, everybody in the
building, they’re with us. I feel like personally Coach Nape
is a great coach. He does a great job of keeping us
together.
Q. The ability for this team to block out the outside
noise, how critical do you think that is to be able to
have a performance like this tonight?
JADAN BAUGH: Coach Nape puts a big impact on us
keeping the outside noise the outside noise. Okay, we
deal with it. We hear it. We staying together, so…
Q. I want to talk about you because you had the big
game tonight. Talk about actually your offensive line.
How big were those holes you were going through?
JADAN BAUGH: (Indiscernible) great, in my opinion.

Going to be little things we might have to work on. I got to
do a better job trusting it. I know I saw a couple holes that
I missed. Like on 18, I could have got outside.
They played great. I applaud them every day, so…
Q. Coach Juluke returned tonight from a suspension.
What is your relationship like with him? How
energizing is it to have him back?
JADAN BAUGH: Having him on the sidelines is just
amazing. He gives everybody, not just the running backs,
he coaches us but coaches everybody. He brings the
energy. He’s the coach, when he’s around the energy
going to be up. Having him on the sidelines was a great
adjustment for us.
Q. Early touchdown run, then second touchdown
called back on a penalty. How do you fight through
that and stay focused?
JADAN BAUGH: As I was always growing up, my pops
and my moms told me keeping your composure is
everything. Dealing with something like that, getting a
holding call, I agreed that wasn’t, but…
Keeping my composure and keeping the team’s
composure, keeping their heads together, pushing, pass it,
finishing right way.
Q. What does it say about this team so many young
guys, you’re playing with so many freshmen, so many
sophomores, too, what do you think about the future of
this team?
JADAN BAUGH: Well, I think the future’s going to be
bright. I’m very proud of the young guys that played today.
Definitely proud of Grimsley. I’m proud of Hanks. I am
proud KD. When me and KD came in, we talked about us
two being the starting backs the whole time. Seeing him
today score a touchdown warmed my heart. Having the
rest of the guys step up and play and grow up, honestly, I
think it was good for them to just grow up, get they feet
wet.

Q. The KD touchdown, we saw you embrace him after.
What is your relationship? How have you taken up
that role of being a leader?
JADAN BAUGH: That’s my brother. We came in together.
We had long days, long nights. We went through a lot of
hard times coming in as a freshman, learning the plays.
We definitely came in in January. That was kind of hard,
too, going into spring, not knowing a lot of things, just
learning from the guys that was above us.
Q. Watching that last drive from the sidelines, was
there ever a moment where the result of the USF game
popped in your mind?
JADAN BAUGH: Yeah, but keeping my composure than
our team, focusing on us, giving all my trust into the
defense. Michai made that play. We always say, Why not
you? We made the play.
Q. When he gets that interception, what is the first
thing that’s going through your mind?
JADAN BAUGH: Put my head down, pray to God
(smiling).
One day, I think it was at practice, Michai told me, How you
making that juke? I was like, You just feel it. I thought he
was going to juke ’em. He told me on the sideline he was
going to juke ’em.
I was very proud of him. He’s a great player. Has a lot to
learn. But you’re going to see in the future he’s going to be
one of the topics.
Q. How much confidence did the Texas game gave
you?
JADAN BAUGH: A lot. Defense is playing very, very good
this whole year honestly. I feel like when it comes to
offense, we have to take our time, understand the plays,
understand what’s going on, get a momentum. I feel like
the defense stuck to it. They got the momentum. We just
had to come around.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports

University of Florida Football
Media Conference
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Gainesville, Florida, USA
Michai Boireau
Press Conference

Florida 23, Mississippi State 21
Q. Do you remember the last time you had an
interception?
MICHAI BOIREAU: Last time I had an interception was
probably like in high school. I had a pick in an All-Star
Game. That doesn’t compare to this one (smiling). I
guarantee you that.
Q. Take us through the play.
MICHAI BOIREAU: I mean, coach called a play where the
two D tackles drop back in coverage. I knew where my
zone was, dropped back in my zone. I seen the
quarterback looking at me, because I read the
quarterback’s eyes. Seen that ball coming to me, put my
hands up and caught it.
Q. Were you surprised they were throwing the ball on
that down?
MICHAI BOIREAU: I mean, I didn’t know what they was
doing at that point. I knew when I dropped back and seen
that ball come towards me, I knew what I had to do.
Q. Coach was saying this week, tried to close
everything out, tried to shut everything out in your
minds. Did you just go in there free of whatever is
going on? Was it still in the back of your minds as you
were playing?
MICHAI BOIREAU: I mean, all the outside noise, we don’t
really worry about that. We worry about what we can
control. When we go out on the field, it’s all about the
livingness on the field.
Q. Can you take us through the emotions, for you to
come up and make a play like that in that moment
when it seems like things are falling apart at the end,
your emotions to have been able to pull that off?
MICHAI BOIREAU: Yeah, I mean, it ain’t over till the clock

hits triple zero. We just know when we on that field, it’s all
about execution. We got to get takeaways. You got to
poke the ball out, intercept the ball, whatever we got to do.
Q. Interesting game for the defense in that you give up
a TD on the opening drive, get you in the fourth
quarter. Overall how do you think you persevered,
particularly with the injuries?
MICHAI BOIREAU: I mean, the defense, we got a strong
defense. Every to time we go out on that field, we know
what we got to do. No matter if we losing, we winning, if
it’s 30 seconds on the clock or it’s 15 minutes on the clock,
we know what we got to do when we’re on that field.
Q. How much do you still have confidence in Coach
Napier leading this program, all the outside noise?
MICHAI BOIREAU: I mean, Coach Napier is a great
coach, honestly. I mean, it’s out of my control. Just got to
move on.
Q. When did you learn how to slide like that?
MICHAI BOIREAU: Slide? I’ll be honest with you, I did not
want to slide. I seen the end zone. I wanted to go to the
end zone. Shots fired, you got to get down (smiling).
Q. You have good hands?
MICHAI BOIREAU: Yeah, for sure.
Q. What’s that based on? Played another position?
Good basketball player?
MICHAI BOIREAU: I played a little basketball. I also
played a little middle linebacker when I was in little rep ball.
I know how to catch the ball when it come to me.
Q. Also the young guys, defenders, that really hadn’t
played at all, had key roles tonight. How do you think
those guys have come along, stepped up?
MICHAI BOIREAU: Yeah, I mean, the young guys, they
very intentional about learning from the olders and the

161209-1-1004 2025-10-19 01:11:00 GMT Page 1 of 2

vets. They can look at little things that the vets do, they
can critique their craft.
We feel confident with them on the field, whoever it is
honestly.
Q. The safety back here, 15 tackles, what do you think
about that?
MICHAI BOIREAU: 15 tackles, crazy. That’s my guy right
there. Need that.
Q. You exit through the tunnel at the end of the game,
you’re applauded. Coach Napier comes behind you.
There were boos. There were Fire Billy chants in the
crowd. What is your response to that?
MICHAI BOIREAU: When I’m in the game, I don’t hear
nothing. Whatever coach said, the crowd is just blurred
noise. I’m just worried about what I got to do.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports

161209-1-1004 2025-10-19 01:11:00 GMT Page 2 of 2

2025 Florida Football Postgame Quotes

Florida Student-Athletes
Florida 23, Mississippi State 21
Oct. 18, 2025

43 Alfonzo Allen, Senior Defensive Back

On when he found out he was going to starting and his reaction…
“Little bit today after we went through walkthroughs. Nothing really, honestly. I was just ready for the
moment. Been preparing for it. I mean, I played a couple games at Baylor, so just using my
experience and my age, just to be mature and handle it the right way.”
On having ten tackles at halftime and if he realized what was going on…
“I mean, I ain’t stat chasing. I’m just trying to do whatever God wants me to do on the field.”
On what went down on the fourth down play…
“I mean, the last one, we really needed a stop. Coach Roberts came in with a good call and God
gave me a special play, so it’s really them.”
On when knew he was going to be playing a big role this week and stepping up for Castell…
“A little bit throughout the week. We always got a lot of guys for the team, props to coach Vinnie for
making sure everybody’s ready for when the times come… It means a lot because I’m playing for my
guys, you know? I love them boys and I’ll do whatever it takes.”
On Coach Roberts’ ability to unite the defense and how he helps in that process…
“Although play calling goes a lot into it, but at the end of the day we gotta execute on the field.
That’s what we preach a lot is execution, taking extra reps, making sure we go over it, and watch
over film. We executed tonight and that’s the outcome that we got.”
On having the most tackles in a Gator game since 2021…
“It’s God, it wasn’t me. I just continued to pray, hoping I got the opportunity to step up.”
On what he thinks of the freshmen that were able to step in on defensive tonight…
“These guys have been working since fall camp and they are really special. They have a special
group. It’s good for them to keep their head down and keep faith. Sometimes some things don’t work
out the way they want, but when it’s their time, they’ll be ready.”

2025 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State Head Coach

Florida 23, Mississippi State 21
Oct. 18, 2025

On the last offensive sequence of the game…
“Yeah, we wanted to be right around the 20-yard line. Felt like that was one of those things where
that is an incredibly-safe field goal spot for us. So, had the ability there to be able to go gain six yards.
I love the call. I don’t like what the outcome was. But we did. We had a ton of opportunities. It comes
down to that last play. We’ve got a find a way to feel the dropper and see it, while at the same time
making a better decision at receiver. And if those two things happen, I do feel really good about it.
We’re able to kill the ball and go kick a field goal.”
On the conversations with officiating over the second-quarter field goal miss…
“What they ended up saying was, it was something that we weren’t going to be able to review. It
was right over the top of the upright and not reviewable.”
On how much that miss factored into passing the ball late in the fourth quarter…
“Again, we’ve got no timeouts. All we’re trying to do is find a way to go gain six, seven more yards
and be able to kill the ball. Throw something really high percentage that’s easy. Again, the
execution, very frustrated with how the game ends. But man, when you’ve got something that you
feel like’s going to go gain six or seven yards, that takes a lot of pressure off that field goal kicker. And
so, we’re at the 29 or 30-yard-line, you find a way to go gain six or seven, you feel really good about
it.”
On what changed in the fourth quarter offensively…
“It’s still the exact same thing. It’s negative plays. I don’t know if we had a negative play in the fourth
quarter. That’s it. The negative plays in the first half, we’re moving the football, I think we had three
drives there in the second quarter where we ended up getting no points, and it was because of
negative plays. And that was a story, again.”
On being unable to finish drives in the first half…
“Again, the message after the game was, there’s other moments to win the game, not just the last
time we had possession of the football. And all of the plays inside the game give us the ability to
have game control, and control the game. Instead, we’re in that situation, where we do, we’ve got
an opportunity to go win the game. Put together two great drives, back-to-back, defense gets the
stop, and the game ends the way that it does. But, there’s still all of these different plays inside the
game that give us the ability to have game control, and control the game, that are keeping us from
doing that in the first half.”
On what contributed to the first-half struggles on offense…
“Negative plays. Us being behind the sticks. That’s what it was. And so, it was somebody different on
a couple of those drives, where we’ve got to find ways to get us back to second-and-eight, we gain
six yards on first-and-10, we’re in a shift, and we snap the ball when the guy’s still moving, we end up
first-and-15, we lose two, on a first-and-15, we go to second-and-17, we got no chance. And so those
are things that we’ve got to find ways to clean up. Those are the plays inside the game that keep us
from having game control, and controlling the game at an earlier point.”

On being unable to get off the field late due to mistakes…
“It’s frustrating. We had great moments defensively, but we gave them 30 yards in penalties on that
last drive. They go make a 53-yarder on that last drive with about six and a half minutes left.”
On the running game…
“We were very streaky and very inconsistent. We had some issues in the interior at times where we
had our chance to go target things a little better and we had a couple opportunities where if we
stayed on a tighter track, we had the chance to go gain six or seven yards instead of being second
and nine. It’s all those things and that is the message to our football team. When things are really
good, it’s because of everybody. When things are going the way we want them to go, everybody
has some control over that. That is the message. I believe it. We are going to respond the right way.
We are tired of being close, but our guys are going to wake up tomorrow morning and they are
going to make a choice to respond.”
On the offensive line play…
“I thought we were better. Obviously, having Albert [Reese IIII] back helped. Still, at times we had a
couple things where we had layups on the perimeter and some balls that have a chance to be big,
big chunks down the field where we just need to play a little better fundamentally. Those were some
things in the first half that were frustrating.”
On seeing the SEC losing streak continue…
“Not being on the right side of it is frustrating. There is no question about it. I am tired of being close
and our guys are tired of being close. We are going to respond the right way. I believe in our guys
100% and I believe in this football team, and I love coaching them. They have done a great job of
sticking together and we will continue to do that as we get ready to get back home next week.”
On the message to QB Blake Shapen after the late interception…
“Respond. Find to take a way to take the positives and continue to build on those. The toughness this
dude plays with every single Saturday is incredible. He played incredibly tough today. He is going to
want plenty of things back, but he will respond the right way and keep fighting to get better. He will
do that cause he is a great competitor and leader.”
On WR Brenen Thompson…
“I was not going to get out of this game without forcing the ball to him because of some of the
matchups. He responded for us.
On S Brylan Lanier…
“Finding ways to get his hands on the football and making plays. That is what we stress nonstop. Find
a way to make plays and he did that.”

2025 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State Student-Athletes
Florida 23, Mississippi State 21
Oct. 18, 2025

2 Blake Shapen, Senior Quarterback

On the emotions of the last sequence of the game…
“So, right there we started the drive off with motioning the back out and if they run with the back,
you’re off of it. Playing to the left side, had like a quick out and I didn’t like the quick out. The
numbers in the box were really good, so I just took off vertical and started off the trap. We wanted to
get a positive play to start and the box was real light right there so that’s what we did.”
On taking us through the read and what he saw during the last sequence of the game…
“Basically just had a little small option route, about six-yard option route where you can break in or
break out or sit, and right in that situation I just got to take care of the ball the best I can. It felt like I
was hot right there, so trying to get the ball out of my hands, but I mean in that scenario what you
need to do is kick the field goal and you win it. So, you know I gotta be better there and you know
that’s completely on me. Especially in that moment, you gotta be able to just take care of the
football the best you can in that situation.”
On if he saw the guard during the blitz on the interception…
“Yeah, it was actually, I think it was a nose guard who dropped, so I never saw him. I’m sitting to the
right side. I just didn’t see him. But in that situation, you just gotta expect some dropper or something
like that to just be able to take care of it. But I felt like I was about to get hit, so try to get the ball out,
but in that situation, you get the ball out of bounds. So, that’s what I gotta do. That’s completely on
me.”
On if the play calls on the final drive surprised him…
“I mean, right there, trying to get six or seven more yards, probably going to kick a field goal. Just to
make it a lot easier on the field goal kicker, for sure right there, so you know he’s trusting me to be
able to take care of the football in that situation. I gotta be able to do that.”
On what conversations were like at halftime about being unable to capitalize…
“It’s just frustrating. You know, you get all the way down in the red zone and we were pretty efficient

moving the football. I don’t think there were many drives. I think in the first half we had one three-
and-out. So, we were able to move the football all night. But when we got in the red zone, we just

weren’t able to capitalize on our opportunities and that’s something we gotta grow on. You know, it
comes down to the last play, but you know we gotta be better early in the game. It starts with me, I
gotta be better in situations, not taking negatives or sacks and things like that. I gotta play a lot
better for our unit to be better, for sure.”

40 Nic Mitchell, Redshirt Senior Linebacker

On his mindset at the end of the game…
“Of course, never a doubt in my mind. I always believing, it just didn’t go our way. So, we got to
respond. We could sit here and cry and who we can blame. But we had somebody from chapel
today that just preached to us about responding, no matter good or bad. What you do is you go to
sleep, you wake up, and you respond.”
On getting close to wins, but not being able to secure them…
“We practice so hard. We work so hard. We just want to see the result we’re working for each day.
But we got to respond.”
On being able to stop RB Jadan Baugh later in the game…
“I really think we started tackling better. At first, we were arm tackling, slinging, including myself. So,
we started tackling better.”
On playing at home after multiple weeks away…
“I’m excited. Right now, I’m going to wake up tomorrow, get ready, get back to work, get my body
back right, and get ready to roll for next game.”
On the message from team leaders in the locker room…
“Everybody is hurting. Everybody’s disappointed, but we got to respond. There’s really not too many
words in that locker room right now. I think everybody is hurting. But we know what it is. When you sign
up to be a leader on a team, you’re not just a leader during the good times. You’re not just a leader
when we beat Arizona State. You’re a leader in these moments too. So, it’s time for us to respond
and lead from the front.”