Editor’s note: We get pitched interviews on occasion, usually in conjunction with some former Florida player doing something — for Tim Tebow, more than once, it’s been charity work — in the community for a company and having a few minutes to talk. I don’t tend to take them for myself, because I’m not great at interviews and because outside is scary.
But Alligator Army contributor Ashley Kummer is great at them, and a rising star in sports media. And so I thought of her when the opportunity to interview ESPN’s Laura Rutledge — a fixture on SEC Network coverage who has recently broadened her roles at ESPN to include pinch-hitting on SportsCenter and Get Up — as part of promotion for Pilot Flying J, and Ashley was able to take time to talk to Laura about her background at Florida, her rise at ESPN, the value of coffee in her busy career, and so much more.