From the South Florida gridiron to Southeastern Conference sidelines, being a student coach for the Gators is a dream

I always knew I was made for football. Growing up in the football hotbeds of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, I started playing the game when I was 4 years old. I dreamed of one day participating at the collegiate and professional levels, and I came to realize that I wanted to make a career out of it. 

I had long said that, whenever my playing days were over, I would get into coaching. Much to my surprise, that opportunity came sooner than I ever could have imagined. When it came time for college and I decided to attend the University of Florida, I leaned into the football contacts from my childhood in South Florida.

I had many conversations with my friend and mentor, Adam Gase, the former head coach of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets, about the coaching profession and how to get my foot in the door. He ultimately connected me with Rob Sale, offensive line coach at UF. Gase had been just beginning his career as a graduate assistant at Louisiana State University when Sale was a player there under then-head coach Nick Saban. Through Sale, I met Gators quarterbacks coach Ryan O’Hara.  

I arrived at UF and began moving into my freshman dorm at Trusler Hall in August 2024. At this point in time, my plan was to one day coach for the Gators, but I hadn’t quite figured out how. Less than 24 hours into my time at Florida, I received a phone call saying that Sale and O’Hara would like to meet with me that day. I was over the moon.

I put on my sharpest Gators polo and walked to the Heavener Football Facility. I will never forget the first time I walked through those doors and saw National Championship trophies, Heisman Trophies and more banners than I could even count. 

At the conclusion of our meeting, the two of them said, “Coach wants to see you.” At this point in my life, I had been around enough football to know that, when two high-level Southeastern Conference football coaches are referring to another individual as simply “coach,” they are referencing the head coach.  

Head coach Billy Napier came out of his office just as I was walking down the hallway and said, “What’s up, Jesse?,” followed by an embrace. I will forever remember the feeling of shock and appreciation that I felt knowing that the head coach knew my name the very first time I met him.  After a great conversation, he shook my hand and said, “See you tomorrow.”  My foot was in the door, and I never looked back.

Since that life-altering day, I have been working in the quarterbacks room as the quarterbacks development coach. I have spent the past two years working with and learning from the best coaches and football professionals in the world.  

Having the opportunity to coach for the team I grew up cheering for is a feeling unlike any other. I still have to pinch myself every once in a while.  

My last two years of coaching football for the Gators have been an incredible honor. This program, with its storied history, unrivaled fan passion and high expectations, has helped develop me as both a coach and a person. It has provided me with the opportunity to do what I love while building lasting memories. I will never forget the rush of my first time coming out of the tunnel in The Swamp to the roar of 90,000-plus fans.  

I will never forget beating the Florida State Seminoles in the freezing cold up in Tallahassee in 2024 or the rush of winning my first bowl game as a college football coach at the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa. And I will certainly never forget seeing my good friend, Graham Mertz, get drafted by the Houston Texans in the 2025 NFL Draft.  

I am incredibly grateful for the memories I have made in my first two years and I look forward to making many more here with Florida Football in the seasons to come.

I have long defined my future career plans as finding a way to take my love for the game of football and translate it into something through which I can positively impact the communities I serve. Whether that be in coaching, scouting or in some front-office managerial capacity, I believe with everything I have that football is my way to give back. 

Jesse Hay is a sophomore sport management student in the University of Florida’s College of Health and Human Performance, in his second year as the quarterbacks development coach for Florida Gators Football. He is passionate about leveraging sports as a vehicle to drive social change and positively impact communities.