Chopz504

A missing boater found clinging to an overturned boat was rescued Monday off Florida's Gulf Coast, but the search continued for two NFL players and another man aboard who didn't return from a weekend fishing trip.

Relieved parents
Video: Nick Schuyler's parents discuss their son's condition, his rescue at sea earlier Monday and their thoughts on the three men still missing.

Survivor Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida player, told rescuers that the 21-foot boat was anchored when it flipped Saturday evening in rough seas and that the others got separated from the boat, Capt. Timothy M. Close said. Schuyler, who was wearing a life vest, had been clinging to the boat since then.

The boat was anchored about 35 miles off the coast.

The boat belongs to Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, who along with free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley, remained missing.

Close said the Coast Guard would search for the three missing men for "quite awhile."

Schuyler was conscious when the Coast Guard found him, Close told the St. Petersburg Times. He was rescued at approximately 12:00 p.m. ET.

Schuyler is in serious condition at Tampa General Hospital, a hospital spokesman said, according to the paper.

Nick Schuyler was taken to Tampa General Hospital after he was rescued 35 miles off the coast of Florida on Monday. (Cliff McBride/Tampa Tribune / Associated Press)

Television footage shows Schuyler conscious but weak as he was being taken off a Coast Guard helicopter at Tampa General Hospital and placed on a stretcher.

Ray Sanchez, a cousin of Cooper who is at the Clearwater boat ramp where the men were last seen and has been getting updates from family, told the Times that cousin is a strong swimmer and had a life vest with him.

"I know my cousin, so he's coming back,'' Sanchez said. "A lot of people have been calling, been texting, a lot of everything. Thank you for all of that to everybody. Keep praying ... We have three more to go."

The Coast Guard cutter Tornado found the boat and dispatched a smaller boat to rescue Schuyler.

The four left Clearwater Pass early Saturday in calm weather, but heavy winds picked up through the day and the seas got heavy, with waves of 7 feet and higher, peaking at 15 feet on Sunday. A relative alerted the Coast Guard early Sunday after the men did not return as expected.

The Coast Guard had searched about 16,000 square miles of ocean for the Everglades-manufactured boat by Monday morning. Everglades boats are built with compressed foam encased in Fiberglas, which makes them difficult or impossible to sink.

Marquis Cooper, left, and Corey Smith were still missing Monday, the Coast Guard said. (Getty Images)

Waves had subsided to 6 to 8 feet, still enough for a small craft advisory, but considerably smaller than the 15-foot waves Sunday, National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Barron said.

Family members believed the men had flares on board. The Coast Guard had not received a distress signal from the men.

Cooper owns the boat, and he and Smith, who were teammates with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004, have been on fishing trips before, according to Ron Del Duca, Smith's agent.

Close said at least one of the men was an experienced boater, and relatives provided the Coast Guard with GPS coordinates from previous fishing expeditions.

The 29-year-old Smith of Richmond, Va., is 6-foot-2, 250 pounds and had 30 tackles, including three sacks, and an interception in 12 games last season for the winless Lions.

Cooper, 26, who is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, has spent five seasons with five different teams, appearing in 26 games with the Buccaneers in 2004 and 2005, but playing sparingly since. He grew up in Gilbert, Ariz., and his father Bruce is a prominent sportscaster for KPNX-TV in Phoenix.

Bruce Cooper said his son goes deep-sea fishing "any opportunity he gets." He joined his son in an excursion two years again and "swore I'd never do so again," Cooper said in a statement.

"Needless to say I am very concerned," he sad. "I am praying and hoping for the best."

The Lions and Raiders issued statements saying their thoughts and prayers are with the families of all the missing men and those involved in the search.

imd_best

Damn!!!! You know they dead!!! They started to eat each on day one!!!

Ghettobyrd

lol oh man

Chopz504

theres always hope im praying

hothifaass

yeah i hope they get found but chances are theyre dead,the 1 survivor said they were disoriented when they floated off so they probably ended up passing out which lowers your body temperature in the already cold water.

Chopz504

but i heard they had on life jackets

hothifaass

life jackets dont keep you from getting hypothermia

richad_ach76

yeah i saw this on the news....just crazy

Chopz504

welll its confirmed now there dead

hothifaass

they shouldve known better anyway,only people that should be out that far fishing is professional fisherman,plus theyre boat wasnt even that big and is probably why it got capsized from the waves,kinda bothers me though that theyre just giving up on the search.....even if they are dead it would be nice to have some closure instead of just leaving them floating out there somewhere

Chopz504

werd i know the bodies have to be somewhere and a shark wouldnt attack a dead body

imd_best

Wow it sucks that i was right!!!

Chopz504

yep they gone