What a great kid. Accepted to UF med school. Way to go! Sent from my iPad
> On Nov 1, 2014, at 10:32 PM, Shane Ford <goufgat...@bellsouth.net> wrote: > > Former walk-on provides key play for UF > > > Kick holder Michael McNeely celebrates a fake kick for a touchdown during the > first half of the Gators' game against the Georgia Bulldogs on November 1, > 2014 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. Rob C. Witzel / Staff > photographer > > By Kevin Brockway > GAINESVILLE SUN Staff writer > Published: Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 10:10 p.m. > Last Modified: Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 10:10 p.m. > JACKSONVILLE — The touchdown that turned around Florida’s moribund football > season was run by a former walk-on who bags groceries at Publix to help raise > money for school. > > Redshirt senior receiver Michael McNeely was the unlikeliest hero of > Florida’s 38-20 win Saturday over rival Georgia. His 21-yard touchdown run on > a fake field goal attempt for the Gators is a story he will be able to tell > his children and grandchildren. > > “I’ll never forget this for the rest of my life,” McNeely said. > > Florida trailed 7-0 with 8:25 left in the second quarter when McNeely came in > as a holder for a Frankie Velez 39-yard field goal attempt. The Gators had > practiced a fake with McNeely about 10 times during the week. Georgia didn’t > notice McNeely had replaced normal UF holder Kyle Crofoot. > > McNeely said he saw the right look from Georgia’s kick block unit and decided > to go ahead with the play. > > “It was a great call,” McNeely said. “It was drawn up perfectly. The guys > blocked. I know Tevin (Westbrook) had a great climb and Clay (Burton) kicked > out. Frankie faking helped. All the linemen blocking, it was perfect. All I > had to do was run.” > > Florida coach Will Muschamp said he had no reservations about putting the > crucial play in the hands of a former walk-on. > > “Mike runs extremely well,” Muschamp said. “He really does. He’s a really > good athlete. Mike is one of our best special teams players.” > > The touchdown tied the score at 7 and put a charge into a Gator team that had > struggled against the Bulldogs in the first quarter. Florida went on to take > a 14-7 lead at halftime and scored 17 more points in the second half to take > a commanding 31-7 lead. > > The 5-foot-9, 176-pound McNeely said he felt a charge on the sidelines > following the play. > > “We really started rolling,” McNeely said. “All my teammates were mobbing me. > Actually I had my shoe come off. I had to get back for the kickoff. But we > really did start rolling after that so that was great.” > > McNeely is a study in persistence. He began working at Publix in his native > Clearwater in high school in 2008 and walked on to the UF football program in > 2010. Last August, McNeely was given a scholarship by Muschamp. The next day, > McNeely was back on the job at the Publix at Westgate Plaza on 34th Street, > bagging groceries and checking out customers at the cashier counter. > > “I use him as an example for some of our guys all the time,” Muschamp said. > “When you guys complain about the foot, when you guys complain about this … > go do what he does.” > > Earlier in the week, McNeely had a reason to celebrate when he found out he > was accepted to medical school at Florida. He’ll be back at Publix on Sunday, > bagging groceries and checking out customers for close to $10 an hour to save > money for medical school tuition. McNeely said he’s more than willing to pick > up shopping carts left sprawled around the parking lot, and has bagged all > kinds of items, including crab legs (insert your own Jameis Winston joke > here). > > “I’m just so thankful for God and the way that he’s blessed me,” McNeely > said. “This week has been amazing, probably the best week of my life in terms > of all the news that I’ve gotten.” > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Sent From Shane's iPhone > Go Gators! & Skål Vikes! > ALPCA #8756 > Europlate #1045 > -- > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorNews" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to gatornews+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorTalk" group. 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