A lot has been made of you guys as a pitching staff, obviously, and Coastal Carolina, your
next opponent, is kind of one of those dynamic scrappy offenses.
How do you like that matchup?
I mean, I like that matchup a lot.
What's your favorite part of coming to the College World Series and being an Omaha?
The fans.
I definitely love the big crowd.
It is Thanksgiving, so I'm going to ask you my question.
What are you most thankful for?
I'm just thankful for my mom.
You know, she's always been there for me, just showing me the ropes of life.
I'm really just thankful for my mom and everything she did for me.
Got to have the shout out for mom on Thanksgiving.
Well, thank you for all of your Ask a Gator questions.
You guys have talked a lot about the defense so far tonight, and one part of the defense
that sometimes can get overlooked is the outfield.
Buddy Reid has center field on lockdown, and freshman Nelson Madelnado has done a great
job in left, but Kevin O'Sullivan is still kind of toying around with that right field
position.
We've seen Ryan Larson, Nick Horvath, tonight we have Jeremy Vasquez in right, and Nick
as a former Gators outfielder, what do you think the Gators are going to do heading into
the last two SEC series of the regular season?
Well, I just found out I've got some eligibility left.
Camping World Stadium is still filling up for the 2017 Pro Bowl, but the event has already
been a success for the Orlando community, and it's first year hosting it, tickets sold
out, days in advance.
You put together your sixth NCAA tournament win.
That's the most in school history now.
How does it feel to crush another school record?
Honestly, I mean, I'm not even really thinking about that, but I mean, I know you say it
if it feels pretty cool.
And obviously today was a do or die situation for you guys, but obviously there's some
emotions on the mound tonight for you.
The crowd gave you a standing ovation as you left the mound tonight.
How did that feel for you?
That was probably the coolest feeling I've ever had playing baseball.
Today, they were fueled by a little bit of hayward magic.
In the 400 meters, the 400 meter hurdles, and in the triple jump, capturing the program's
third outdoor national championship.
Another guy who got the crowd fired up tonight was Jake McGee with his touchdown.
57% of his catches have been touchdowns or first downs.
How solid has he been?
He's really the guy that we heard all about last year.
Love it or hate it, Tennessee's Rocky Top is a staple in the SEC East.
Players throughout the years have used it as a motivating factor and have found it extremely
annoying.
Let's see if it gets under UF students' skin.
Here with head coach Jim McElwain at Gators Pro Day.
Why is today so important for all these Gators coming out here and showing scouts what they've
got?
Also, we've got your teammate, Tripp Thurman, asking what inspired your new haircut this
season?
Oh man, my new haircut.
What would be the deciding factor if the Gators are going to win this series?
While the Gamecocks won their outing yesterday against softy opponent Thurman, but struggled
against Arkansas earlier in the week, the Gators must pack their strongest bats and
make sure the stellar pitching staff we've seen makes the trip to Columbia.
Another item for the checklist is endurance, something the Gators know a little bit about
this season with five games won and extra innings.
The Gamecocks have won five this season when trailing in the seventh, including three trailing
in the ninth.
Expect them to duke it out and SEC East showdown this weekend.
All right, that's our baseball mind Kelly Price.
Rico Suave wants to know if you scored a touchdown, what would your touchdown dance?
Probably dad one time.
Are we going to get a demonstration here?
That's the touchdown dance for Brian Cock.
And a star from Texas A&M went seventh, and nope, not Johnny Manziel, but Mike Evans,
who the Bucks nabbed.
Bucks management is touting Evans as the twin tower to their vet receiver Vincent Jackson.
Then near the end of the first round, Dominique Easley's name was called.
The former Gator is heading north to the New England Patriots, and fun fact, Easley is
the sixth Gator Bill Belichick has drafted in the last 10 years for the Patriots.
Shayla Sanders has rewritten the University of Florida record books since she set foot
on campus.
In January, she crushed the 60 meter time, a record she previously broke as a sophomore
in 2014.
But the red shirt junior who stands the top podiums at track meets today is a totally
different person than the shy girl who came here in 2013.
As the Gators approach the end of a season in which wins have been harder to come by
for Billy Donovan, he left the O'Connell Center tonight a winner, taking home his 500th
career victory.
Here at the Reese's Senior Bowl, the best seniors from around the country convened for
a week of practices with NFL coaches.
All 32 teams have personnel here looking carefully at the players and how they react to live
game situations and drills.
And just like that, Tampa was out of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Lightning struggled earlier this season without star Steven Stamkos and a trade of
the team's undisputed leader, Martin St. Louis.
Montreal will play the winner of the Boston Detroit series.
Last night Bradley Beale and Joaquin Noah proved the Gator Nation truly is everywhere,
including the NBA playoffs, the Wizards and Bulls in Chicago.
Beale racked up a game high 26 points for the Wizards, making the difference.
The Bulls end up dropping this one 101 to 99.
How did you match that emotion and bring that to the mound tonight?
We have Genus who wants to know, PB&J with crust or without crust?
With.
Alright, that's a good choice.
You've also reached base in every civil game so far as a Gator.
What has been the learning curve for you obviously as a freshman?
You still are being able to hit the ball pretty well here.
No other SEC schools have played in the SEC championship game more times than Alabama
and Florida.
Today, going into New York Giants Camp, the biggest question is the offense.
But the attention is not on Eli Manning as usual, but his supporting cast.
Sometimes in the diehard SEC, we forget there's more to life than football.
On the football field, the Florida Gators have played with a new life this season.
Meanwhile, one of their biggest fans has been fighting for his.
The connection between a boy and his favorite team has given eight-year-old Jay Ryan and
his family a new life as he battles acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
This journey started with a simple poster held by a smiling face, asking the Gators
to beat then number three Ole Miss.
The picture on social media went viral as coach Jim McElwain and multiple players retweeted
and voiced support for team Jay.
He has a Facebook page and so I figured, okay, post on his Facebook page, people get a kick
out of it, that'll be the end of it.
Never that it would turn into such a huge thing, but he has loved every moment of it.
After that weekend, coach McElwain sent Jay a ball from the Ole Miss game, which Jay
received while he was in the hospital.
A handful of players started donning team Jay wristbands, recognizable by their tie-dye
color, Jay's favorite.
Many Gators have really taken Jay's story to heart.
I mean, it definitely put things into perspective.
Being with football, you know, we're busy and, you know, we're always worried about winning
and losing, but seeing a kid, you know, is really fighting for his life and his inspiration
is us.
It definitely puts things into perspective and makes you realize, you know, how blessed
and fortunate we are that our biggest concern is winning a football game, whereas he's
trying to, you know, battle for his life.
Wide receiver Chris Thompson first got to know Jay over the summer after a mutual friend
told him Jay's story.
Thompson's grandmother passed after a battle with cancer, so Jay's story hit him close
to home.
The two started regular FaceTime sessions.
During the Gators' bi-weekend, Thompson, a Gainesville native, drove nearly two hours
to the Ryan's home in Sorrento, Nero Lando.
He and Jay watched football together and played with lightsabers.
I figured, like, I'll go visit them because we had a little bi-week, and I told his mom
not to tell him, so it was like a little surprise.
So that just brought joy to him, and I just felt good about doing that.
It was his week off, you know, he could have been at his own home visiting his parents
and stuff, but he was with us visiting Jay, it was huge.
The support from Gator Nation has overwhelmed the Ryan's.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation made a trip to Gainesville for the Gators' homecoming game
against Vanderbilt a reality for the Ryan's.
Jay made it to the swamp for his first Gator game and got to check off number one on his
bucket list, meeting Coach McElwain.
And that's Coach Mc!
He even got to catch up with his favorite player after the game.
Being called someone's favorite player, that's awesome.
He's out here actually just fighting for his life.
Every day he goes, he's tired and he's still going.
So I just, every day I think about him and how he's feeling and I just push myself.
The Gators have defied odds this season just as Jay is determined to win his battle.
As the team moves forward through the season towards Atlanta, they will continue to hashtag
win for Jay.
For Inside Gator Football, I'm Kelly Price.
Coach Mc, what a really heartwarming story this is.
