For Gators safety Matt Elam, one of the biggest plays of Saturday’s game was about hustle and instincts.
On LSU’s third play from scrimmage after Florida scored to take a 7-6 lead, quarterback Zach Mettenberger took a snap at LSU’s 21-yard line, bought time and fired down the right sideline. Receiver Odell Beckham shook cornerback Marcus Roberson with a slant-and-go, hauling in the pass for a 56-yard gain that put the Tigers within range for a lead-changing field goal. But Elam sprinted over and pried the ball from Beckham’s grasp as the receiver attempted a stiff arm. Beckham was initially ruled down, but the officials changed the call to a fumble upon review. UF safety DeAnte Saunders recovered the loose ball, killing LSU’s chance at a score.
“That was a huge turning point,” coach Will Muschamp said.
“That was probably the play of the game in my eyes,” safety Josh Evans added.
Elam also recorded seven solo tackles in Florida’s 14-6 upset of LSU on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
The Dwyer High graduate seemed to always be around the ball, but none of his plays were more critical than the forced fumble.
As Beckham was running down the sideline, Elam simply let instinct take over.
“It was all instincts, it was all playmaking,” Elam said. “I gave a great effort, and it paid off.”
The forced fumble was the first of the year for Elam, who led UF with two forced fumbles in 2011.
The seven solo tackles tied his season best on Sept. 15 against Tennessee.
Elam’s emotion and intensity, however, appeared to be at an all-time high.
Elam wore pink wristbands and shoes to honor his sister, Britnee Walker, who recently battled breast cancer.
“It was very important to me because she was young with it, and she battled through it,” said Elam, wearing a black shirt with a pink Gators logo during his postgame interview. “She was here at the game, so I had to show her support.”
The emotion in Elam’s play was evident.
Early in the fourth quarter, LSU opened a drive at its own 25-yard line with a rush to the right. Elam delivered a monstrous hit, stopping Russell Shepard in his tracks and losing his helmet in the process.
Rather than going to retrieve it, Elam threw his mouth guard high into the air and jogged to the sidelines to get a new one, grinning from ear-to-ear as he waved his arms to pump up the crowd.
“He’s a high-energy guy,” Evans said. “He was just relentless out there today. Coming down, not stopping his feet, running through guys and was pretty much laying the wood on a lot of people today.”
“I was highly excited,” Elam said. “I always tell my team, I give it all for them. I did what I had to do for us to be victorious.”
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