Florida's Pouncey twins rebound from dad's tragedy

MIAMI -- Mike and Maurkice Pouncey got a frantic phone call from their mother in late November. She was freaking out, crying so hard she couldn't explain the situation.

The Pouncey twins knew something was wrong. Way wrong. The Florida offensive linemen managed to get enough information from her to realize they needed to jump in their car and go home.

The two-hour drive to Lakeland was the most uncomfortable of their lives. The waiting. The wondering. The worrying. All the twins could do was make call after call to friends and relatives, trying everything to find out something.

Eventually, they pieced it all together.

Their stepfather, Rob Webster, had been involved in a bizarre railcar accident at work. He lost more than half his right leg and enough blood for it to be considered a life-threatening injury.

"It shocked me because I thought things like that don't happen to good people," Mike Pouncey said.

Webster's recovery has been slow, but not slow enough to keep him from being in the stands when the top-ranked Gators play No. 2 Oklahoma in the Bowl Championship Series national title game against Oklahoma on Thursday night. His return also should provide motivation for Florida, which rallied around Webster and his sons the last six weeks.

"He's going to want us to play hard and play for him," Maurkice Pouncey said. "I can't wait for it."

Webster's injury happened Nov. 24, five days before Florida played rival Florida State in Tallahassee. He was working at a feeding mill, loading railcars for transport, when his leg got wedged between a car and the track.

He was rushed to a local hospital, but doctors were unable to reattach his limb. Webster has started rehabilitation, but still has months to go before getting fitted with a prosthetic leg from the thigh down. In the meantime, he's supposed to be using a wheelchair, but he often prefers a walker.

"As long as he's happy, we're happy," Mike Pouncey said. "He's doing a lot better."

So are the Pounceys, the 6-foot-5, 312-pound sophomores who have started ever game this season.

Florida coach Urban Meyer, defensive coordinator Charlie Strong and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio traveled to Lakeland to be with the twins and their family. The mothers of a couple teammates also stopped by.

The team had white bracelets made with the initials "RW" etched in blue. Players and coaches wore them against the Seminoles five days after the accident, and many will have them on against the Sooners.

"It was something we wanted to do," tight end Tate Casey said. "It was our way of showing support."

The Pounceys considered skipping the game, staying in Lakeland and helping out with their father's side business, a lawn care service. But they knew the man they called "dad," the one who taught them all about football from an early age, wanted them to play. And play they did. They played with the kind of passion that inspired everyone around them.

With Mike Pouncey lining up at right guard and his brother at center, the Gators ran for 317 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-15 rout in heavy rain. Quarterback Tim Tebow also threw for three scores and was sacked just once by Florida State's vaunted defense.

The Pounceys are hoping for similar success against Oklahoma. What they might be looking forward to most is their pregame phone call from their stepfather, the one they get before every game, the one in which Webster yells, "What time is it?" And the twins respond in unison, "Game time!"

It will be a much more enjoyable phone call than the one they got from mom in November.