Laura Rutledge Talks to Gator Gameday About Lagway
As the No. 9 Texas Longhorns came into town on Saturday, “SEC Nation” followed suit. Hosted by Laura Rutledge with Paul Finebaum, Roman Harper, Jordan Rodgers and Tim Tebow, “SEC Nation” is a traveling show on SEC Network.
The show was set up in the Plaza of the Americas on the University of Florida campus. Festivities started with The Paul Finebaum Show on Friday, which went live at 3 p.m. The SEC Nation show started at 10 a.m. and ended at noon on Saturday.
The host of the show, Rutledge, is a UF alumnus and College of Journalism and Communications graduate. Alongside her role as host of SEC Nation, she is the host of “NFL Live” and sideline reporter for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.”
Rutledge took some time before “SEC Nation” went live on Saturday morning to talk with Gator Gameday’s Caroline King, Michael Tubbs and Hailey Hurst.
Interview with Rutledge
King: We are here on the set of “SEC Nation” with Gator great and UF alum Laura Rutledge. Laura, as this season has gone on, expectations have changed for this Florida team. What would a win today mean for the Florida Gators?
Rutledge: Oh my goodness, it would be massive, and I think it’s very possible. A lot of it has to do with the crowd noise in the Swamp, which we know the swamp can be crazy, and only gators get out alive, okay, right? So they just need to make it really tough for Arch Manning and this offense, get them in a place where they can’t communicate well. This defense is down some important players. I wish for Florida that Caleb Banks was out there, but either way, I think they have enough to make that happen, and it would be huge. I mean, it would launch them into a different conversation, right? Texas is not necessarily what we thought Texas was either at the beginning of the season, but [it] still could be a signature win for Billy Napier and the staff.
Tubbs: And like you just talked about, there’s a lot of preseason hype coming into this game between DJ (Lagway) and Arch. Not exactly panned out so far, but both teams [are] coming off of a bye. What should fans expect to see from them today?
Rutledge: It’s a good point you made about the bye because they’ll have extra time to prepare. I mean, you think about Arch Manning and some of the things that have happened with him, just mechanics have been off, but you think in a bye week they have time to fix some of those things, work on his footwork, get back to the basics, get his feet set, allow him to be in a position to actually make the throws that he is capable of making. He’s really talented. And for DJ, I just hope he’s healthy. You know, I think he’s been hobbled. I think he’s less than 100%. We don’t know for sure, right? Maybe you guys know. We’re trying to figure it out. But either way, just that extra time to prepare, extra time to get healthy, I think, benefits both teams. And again, it’s worth remembering that both of these quarterbacks, while they have not lived up to maybe some of the preseason hype, they are extremely talented players and capable of doing a lot.
King: You’re exactly right. And how is it coming back to The Swamp, your alma mater, for SEC Nation? What are the feelings?
Rutledge: Oh, my goodness. It’s always nostalgic for me. It means so much to me to be back here. You know, everywhere I walk, it’s funny. We’re in Library West getting ready for the show. Like, that’s where our office is, and I’m like… man, I spent a lot of nights here at Library West. It all still looks the same. And then certainly some things have changed and gotten better and just are different. But it just is, it feels like home. And this place will always mean so much to me. It’s definitely the place that built me in so many ways. I would not be doing this. I would not have any of these opportunities if not for the opportunities that I was given at Florida. So this place is incredibly special to me.
Tubbs: Laura, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today. It’s great always having you back in The Swamp.
Watch the interview with Rutledge here.
SEC Nation is headed to Columbia, Missouri, to preview No. 8 Alabama at No. 14 Missouri for Week 7.
Category: College Football, Football, Former Gators, Gainesville, Gator GameDay Shows, Gator Sports, Gators Football, SEC
