Former Missouri Tigers quarterback Blaine Gabbert, brothers come up big in water rescue
Former Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert became a “citizen hero,” according to the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s Office, after he and his two brothers helped rescue four people from the water after their helicopter had made an emergency landing in Hillsborough Bay off Davis Islands in Tampa.
Gabbert, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers backup quarterback, and brothers Tyler and Brett visiting from St. Louis, were out for a jet ski ride Thursday and were in the right place at the right time.
Hunter Hupp, his parents, Wesley and Lisa, and the pilot were floating near the submerged helicopter when the Gabberts approached on jet skis. The aircraft made an emergency landing about 200 yards from shore.
The Gabberts helped each of the parents onto a jet ski and got them to shore. Tampa police arrived in a boat within five minutes.
“It was just a pretty crappy situation that turned good in the end,” Gabbert said. “I was just (in the) right place, right time. The credit really goes out to Tampa PD, fire department, sheriff’s department because they were there within five seconds. It was pretty remarkable. It wasn’t me, just my brothers and I out having fun.”
Blaine Gabbert is in his 12th NFL season and fourth with the Bucs. At Missouri, Gabbert started for two seasons and helped the Tigers to bowl games each season. He was a first-round draft pick of the Jacksonsville Jaguars in 2011.
Tyler Gabbert played football at Missouri and Central Florida from 2010-13, and Brett Gabbert has played at Miami (Ohio) since 2019. All are quarterbacks.
“I was expecting the worst-case scenario once I pulled up and realized it was a helicopter,” Gabbert said. “I tried to get them on the jet skis as fast as I could just to get them out of the water, because it was pretty chill on the water. You don’t want to have them in there for too long.”
Gabbert was presented with a ceremonial “unit coin” from the Tampa Police Department’s marine unit and a ballcap as an honorary member of the department.
This story was originally published December 30, 2022 at 4:21 PM.