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Shane Matthews talks Lagway: ‘Nobody knows how DJ feels but me’

On3 imageby: Zach Abolverdi09/17/25ZachAbolverdi
Shane-Matthews-Steve-Spurrier-Florida-Gators
Shane Matthews (left) and Steve Spurrier. (File photo from UAA Communications)

On Florida’s final drive at LSU, DJ Lagway took the first down snap in Tigers territory and scrambled to his left. As he evaded defensive end Jimari Butler near midfield, Lagway lobbed a pass to the right sideline.

“Oh no,” Shane Matthews said on the broadcast after the ball left Lagway’s hand.

The ill-advised throw was picked off by DJ Pickett and sealed the 20-10 win for LSU. It was the fifth interception of the night by Lagway.

“Look, nobody knows how DJ feels but me,” said Matthews, the former Florida quarterback and color analyst for UF football games. “I’ve thrown five interceptions at Mississippi State. It’s not a great feeling.”

Lagway became the first Gators QB to throw five picks in a game since Matthews in 1992. It was also Florida’s third game of the season, on the road in the SEC and coming off a Week 2 loss (at Tennessee).

While Saturday marked Lagway’s first SEC road start, Matthews was a redshirt senior playing in his home state for the first time. He won the 1987 Mississippi Player of the Year and the Class 5A state title.

Like Lagway at Death Valley, Matthews imploded in Starkville. He had a pair of first-half interceptions on third down against MSU, including an overthrown pass to his running back on third-and-goal.

The Gators only trailed 13-6 going into the fourth quarter, but Matthews threw his fourth interception under duress at the Florida 17 and it was returned 16 yards. His last pick came with 10:43 left.

“I didn’t do my job,” Matthews, who was 17 of 38 for 224 yards, said after the game. “This is probably the worst I’ve ever played. I can’t ever remember a day like this. It’s just a total embarrassment.”

Steve Spurrier sent out Matthews for one more series but pulled him after he was almost intercepted again on third down. Matthews also had another pick in the first half, but the safety was ruled out of bounds.

Terry Dean replaced Matthews for the last possession and fumbled in MSU territory. It was the seventh turnover of the game for the Gators, along with a fumble by Errict Rhett.

“I feel bad that I can’t get this offense to score a touchdown, but I don’t have a lot of words for this. Our offense stunk,” Spurrier said afterward.

The 30-6 loss prompted Spurrier to bench his starting right tackle for true freshman Jason Odom. Matthews and the Gators regrouped after the 1-2 start and won seven straight to make the inaugural SEC Championship Game and finish 9-4.

Matthews finished the season with less interceptions (16) than the year before (18) and set the single-season school record for passing yards (3,205) at the time, breaking his previous marks from 1990 and 1991 as the two-time SEC Player of the Year. He also owned the UF records with 9,287 career passing yards and 74 touchdowns, which now ranks third and fifth, respectively.

Can Lagway rebound from his five-turnover performance? Time will tell, but Matthews said it’s imperative for him to improve his fundamentals if he’s going to play better.

“I’ve thrown five interceptions in the game. I’m sure some of them were poor decisions, but not all interceptions are the same,” Matthews said on his podcast Monday. “The interceptions that were thrown the other day were due to just staring receivers and the fundamentals are bad. I’ve been talking about it for two years. His feet are bad. You can’t change it. It’s muscle memory. They work on it, but he is who he is. He got away with it some last year. Now, can he improve by next week? No. You can’t. You can’t.

“We did the same fundamental drills every day and I did them when I coached high school ball and I did them when I was in the XFL. We did them every stinking day. Tom Brady will tell you; we do the fundamentals — the basic, boring stuff — every day and it just becomes natural to you. For whatever reason, I don’t know if it’s his side QB coach that teaches all this nonsense, but you can’t play. You will never be successful if you don’t have good fundamentals in anything that you do. So there.”

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