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Former Florida quarterback Eric Kresser was a vital piece to the Gators’ 1995 season, tossing 12 touchdowns to two interceptions while backing up Heisman Trophy finalist Danny Wuerffel en route to a 12-1 record and an SEC championship.
So what’s the 43-year-old Palm Beach Gardens, Fl. native been up to lately? Well, he saved a life over the weekend.
According to The Herald-Dispatch, Kresser was in line to grab some coffee at Starbucks on Saturday. But instead of the usual, get-in-and-get-out routine, he ended up staying a little longer than he probably anticipated when a man, James Cameron, fell to the floor and was turning blue.
Instinctively, Kresser performed CPR and revived him before an ambulance even arrived.
“I thought he was just getting his breath,” said Kresser. “Someone touched his shoulder and he didn’t respond. Then I touched his shoulder and he didn’t respond. I thought he was gone and he probably was. We got him on his back and he had no pulse and wasn’t breathing, so I performed CPR.
“I think I gave him about 1,000 compressions,” he added. “He started breathing and the color came back into his face. He came to when the medics got there.”
Kresser, who teaches and serves as a football coach (per the report), is required to be certified in CPR, but this was the first time he had to act outside of training.
“I just did what I was taught to do,” Kresser said. “The kids I teach don’t want to go to their CPR class. They’d rather play basketball or something. Maybe this will help them understand how important it is.”
Kresser, who went on to transfer from Florida and won the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA national championship with Marshall before playing three years in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals, was awarded a free cup of coffee from Cameron.
What an awesome story.
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
