Florida tight end Kemore Gamble sprinted down the seam, his 6-foot-4, 214-pound frame uncovered as quarterback Emory Jones fired in his direction. Gamble hauled in the pass and broke a few tackles before multiple Samford defenders finally dragged him down inside the 10-yard line.
The redshirt senior tight end broke out with a career game Saturday, finishing with six receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns. The stud performance carried extra meaning for Gamble, as his mom was in The Swamp to watch her son play for the first time since her recent health scare.
Gamble’s mother, Keiva Rodriguez, has been in the Intensive Care Unit for the last two months, the tight end said after the game.
“It’s been hard trying to ignore it,” Gamble said after Florida’s 70-52 win. “Knowing that she’s not going to be able to watch the games and stuff like that. I was just focusing on football and just talking to my stepdad and my dad, my real dad, and my uncle and auntie all been out here trying to motivate me, coming to games and stuff like that.”
Gamble credited his teammates for keeping his mind focused on football with everything going on in his personal life.
“They haven’t been trying to bring it up, trying to keep my mind away from stuff,” Gamble said. “They want me to hang out with them more often now.”
While he does his best to distract himself, Gamble said he still talks with his family every day, whether by text or over the phone. His mom used to come to almost all of his games. In fact, prior to 2021, Rodriguez saw her son play in every one of his games except for Florida-Georgia. She finally made that trip for the 2020 rendition, where she conquered her fear of bridges to watch her son score a touchdown in Jacksonville.
This season, other family members have assumed Rodriguez’s dutiful role of cheering on Gamble as she recovered.
“My oldest brother will come, depends on the game,” Gamble said. “If not him, my auntie will come to games down here… also my uncle.”
The tight end is quietly stringing together his best season as a Gator: He ranks third on the team in receptions (24) and yards (286) and tied for second in receiving touchdowns (three).
Gamble and the Gators need to win one of their next two games to gain bowl eligibility. They’ll attempt to earn it next week in Columbia, Missouri, against the Mizzou Tigers, before returning to The Swamp for their regular season finale against the Florida State Seminoles.
Contact Michael Hull at mhull@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Hull33.
Michael Hull is a fourth-year journalism sports & media major and a sports writer at The Alligator. He hosts the weekly sports podcast and has worked on staff for five semesters. In the past, Hull has served as the sports editor, the men's and women's golf beat writer, the volleyball beat writer and the football beat writer.
