Jim McElwain takes late hit of Luke Del Rio personal

Luke Del Rio lay on the newly named Steve Spurrier-Florida Field turf, a trainer on either side. North Texas defensive end Joshua Wheeler has just launched his 6-3, 240-pound frame into the side of Del Rio’s left knee.

The redshirt sophomore quarterback knew it was bad. He instantly signaled to trainers on the sideline and took his helmet off. His teammates gathered around, DeAndre Goolsby knelt nearby and Jim McElwain made his way over to Del Rio in a suddenly silent Swamp.

The prognosis is pessimistically unclear.

It doesn’t look great,” McElwain said after the game.

McElwain’s reaction was unexpected. As he talked briefly with Del Rio and the two trainers his eyes moved across the field towards the North Texas sideline. He shot a few words across the field before losing his cool. McElwain went into a wordy frenzy, shouting towards the North Texas bench, before having to be restrained by DeAndre Goolsby and Fred Johnson.

“I obviously took that low hit on Luke awful personal,” McElwain said. “I really care about these players. I care about them in more ways than just as football players. And when you see something like that, it’s my responsibility when their parents aren’t there to be their parents. And each and every guy on this football team knows how much I care for them, and I got their back.”

The Mean Green bench emptied, players making it a few yards onto the field before being pushed back by coaches. The Florida Gators’ bench started to move but were restrained. That kind of raw emotion, anger, hasn’t been seen from McElwain since Kelvin Taylor’s 2015 throat slash.

As a team the Gators didn’t shake hands with North Texas players following the game, instead running directly over to the band for the alma mater. Cooler heads did prevail from the coaches after the game.

“No bad blood there at the end at all,” said McElwain. “I’m sure, like I said, their guy was probably just trying to make a play. And they’ve been called on it a couple times in previous games, but it’s not something they coach. I know that.”

The outburst of emotion, whether intentional or not, did send a message to the players. The players said that they feel as if McElwain treats them as if he’s a father to them and they feel the need to return that same love.

“You know, we just got Coach Mac’s back, and he preaches just don’t let the emotions of the game get the best of you,” junior cornerback Jalen Tabor said. “So that was just my job. He always gets us right and I just wanted to return the favor.”
Moving forward Purdue graduate transfer Austin Appleby will start for the Gators. The former starter will be thrust into the starting role as the Gators head to Knoxville for the much-anticipated meeting wit the Tennessee Volunteers.

“You don’t want to get an opportunity like that. You want to come here and get an opportunity to play; you don’t want to see one of your friends get hurt,” Appleby said. “My heart goes out to him, and I’m confident and I’m prayerful that he’ll be back with us very shortly and we’ll get some good news on him.

But when my number’s called, (I’ll) trust my preparation and go play. This team is counting on me. It’s my job to be ready.”