Maurkice Pouncey Toughed it Out

Maurkice Pouncey spent the better part of five hours in the hospital this morning with kidney stones. After being treated and released, the Gators’ starting center started the game at center and played well before finally being able to come out early with a big lead. The Gators had a huge 51-24 win in New Orleans over Cincinnati as the offense took things to a new level.

For the Pouncey twins, the day didn’t start off very well. Maurkice Pouncey would spend over five hours in the hospital recovering from kidney stones and worried everyone about his health and that the starting center might not be able to play.

Brother Michael Pouncey was proud of Maurkice and the toughness he showed on Friday.

“He played the first half and wasn’t even supposed to play, Michael said of Maurkice. “I was worried at first, we were just walking down to breakfast and he just fell out and they took him to the hospital. They said he had kidney stones passing through. He toughed it out and when it was time to come back to the stadium he played real well.”

Maurkice knew he wasn’t going to miss the game that these Gators needed to get the bad taste out of their mouth from the SEC Championship Game loss.

“I feel alright now,” Maurkice said. “I still have some pain and my stomach is hurting, but I had to tough out for the team and come out and got us a great victory. I felt like I had a responsibility to come out and lead the offense.”

The Pounceys and their linemates played a great game as well as the offense did. The Gators rolled up 51 points along with numerous bowl and single game team records that fell on Friday. It looked like a different offense that had struggled to be consistent all season.

The preparation for the game was key according to Maurkice.

“We prepared the right way,” Maurkice said. “We were locked in and focused. We came out here and were prepared the right way and did our thing tonight.”

Getting rid of that nasty taste in their mouth from the Alabama game a little less than a month ago was also key.

“We had our minds set on one thing and that was getting this 13th victory,” Michael said. “We embarrassed ourselves against Alabama on television. We came out and showed the world we are still a good team.”

They also played loose and like a team that was having fun.

“We played tight all year,” said Maurkice. “We came out here with nothing to lose and played our best game all year.

Both of the twins are still weighing their options about possibly leaving for the NFL. According to both, they still have not received their paper work that will project what round they would go in April’s draft.

Both commented that if they were projected in the top two rounds, they would likely be headed on to making a living playing the game they love.