McCoy In the Middle of It All

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — T.J. McCoy couldn't make Florida football media day due to a class conflict Wednesday. Later that night, however, the third-year sophomore took time to review much of what was said about the 2017 Gators, including Coach Jim McElwain's proclamation that the offensive line would not just be vastly improved, but maybe the strength of the football team.

"He put us out there," McCoy said Friday. "I see that as a challenge, but I also see us as a unit that is ready to meet that challenge."

And McCoy, the starting center, will be in the middle of it all.

It was in Game 9 last season against South Carolina that McCoy — with injuries to both senior Cam Dilliard and then-sophomore Tyler Jordan — was plucked from the sidelines and inserted into the center position, a development that, in fairness to the North Carolina State transfer, probably came a little too soon. Also in fairness (and in tribute) to McCoy, he responded like a young man who was ready.

In fact, he never left the field the rest of the way in starting the final four games of the season at LSU, at Florida State, against Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game, then in the Outback Bowl against Iowa.

McElwain actually pointed to McCoy as the "lightning rod" in the development and maturation of a group he believes is about to erupt on the SEC scene.

"The energy, the care, the want, and obviously being a legacy and playing in the 'Swamp,' for him, that's real," McElwain said, referencing McCoy's father, defensive tackle Tony McCoy, who was a senior and captain on Steve Spurrier's 1991 Gators squad that won the program's first league crown. "Your hear me talk a little bit about how to affect the people around you in a positive way. He's definitely one of those guys."

The younger McCoy absolutely has heard McElwain talk about that very subject. And he's taken those words to heart.

"Coach Mac always talks about, 'Make sure you're helping the team. Make sure you're making the team better.' So that's been my mindset," said McCoy, who parlayed that steadfast mentality into steady, across-the-board performances on the practice field, in the classroom and, eventually, on the frontline offense. "I saw opportunity there and, the way my dad always taught me, was to take it one practice at a time."

Take Friday, for example.

McCoy came to lunch, portioned food into a to-go container and went up to the coaches offices to review his Thursday practice; a practice that was in shorts. And he wasn't reviewing for the purpose of just getting better.

"I'm looking for a way to master what I need to master," McCoy said.

Out of Groveland, Fla., McCoy originally signed with NC State in 2015, but left after his spring as an early enrollee to be closer to his father, who was battling cancer. He wanted to come to UF, but the Gators didn't have a lot of information on him.

He was also (and McCoy will not like this reference) a tad undersized.

That notion, even now, goads him.

"I'm being real with you. I dealt with this in high school a lot … and I'm sick of it," said McCoy, who's listed at 6-foot-1 and 314 pounds. "The thing I've always said is, no one measures you on the field. They measure if you can play. I feel I can play very well. I believe our O-line is a great unit and that we have something to prove. They can say whatever they want about us, about me, I don't care."

T.J. McCoy (center) poses with his family -- including father and former UF standout Tony McCoy (right) -- last April from his hospital bed in Gainesville after the motor scooter he was riding with his girlfriend was struck from behind by a drunk driver.

Junior offensive tackle Martez Ivey, who's known McCoy since their Fellowship of Christian Athlete football days in the Orlando area, seconded his teammate.

"He's fearless," Ivey said. "If you're talking about his height, it's not a factor for him on the field. It might even work to his advantage because he's got leverage on everybody in there. He's got technique. He lost seven or eight poiunds this offseason, but worked on his craft, worked really hard. And he's a smart guy. Spent a lot of time in the film room. Where he was last year and where he is this year, no comparison."

In April, McCoy and his girlfriend were riding their scooters early one morning when a drunk driver rear-ended them at a traffic light. Both were hospitalized, McCoy for two days, but the extent of his injuries were scraps and bruises.

The impact, though, left him with a fortified thankfulness when thinking what might have been.

"It was scary and I just thank God I'm here because it could have ended in a bad way," McCoy said. "I got a second chance and I vowed to take everything — my team, my academics, my life — more seriously."

A more focused T.J. McCoy?

What an encouraging thought for the Gators.

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