Florida football: 15 greatest quarterbacks in Gators history
By John Buhler
Rex Grossman is arguably the greatest Gators quarterback to never win a Heisman Trophy. The Bloomington, Indiana native committed to Florida in 1999 to play for Steve Spurrier as one of the best high school players in his graduating class. After redshirting in 1999, Grossman’s Gator legacy would begin to take flight in 2000.
Grossman had to split time with senior Jesse Palmer in 2000, but still managed to put up solid numbers in limited action. He completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 1,866 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Florida won the SEC Championship that year, but things were only getting started for Grossman as the Gators quarterback.
In 2001, Grossman put together one of the greatest seasons in Florida football history. He completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 3,896 yards, 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Grossman was named SEC Player of the Year and was a consensus All-American. He would finish second in the Heisman Trophy race to Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Eric Crouch in one of the tightest races to date.
With Grossman having emerged as a star quarterback in Florida, he was poised to make serious headway once again in 2002. However, Spurrier would leave the Florida program to become the head coach of the Washington Redskins in the NFL. Grossman played well in his redshirt junior season for new head coach Ron Zook, but wasn’t able to match his redshirt sophomore totals during the final year of the Spurrier era in Gainesville.
After the 2002 NCAA season, Grossman entered the 2003 NFL Draft a year early. This would end up being a wise move for him, as Grossman would be a first-round pick by the Chicago Bears, a team that he quarterbacked for six years. His time in Chicago included a historic 2006 campaign that saw the Bears win the NFC and play in Super Bowl XLI.
After the 2008 NFL season, Grossman followed offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan for the next seven years. Stops included the Houston Texans, the Washington Redskins, the Cleveland Browns and the Atlanta Falcons. Though only a mediocre NFL quarterback, Grossman was a legend at Florida. He completed 61.0 percent of his passes for 9,164 yards, 77 touchdowns and 36 interceptions in three years starring for Florida.