Florida football: 15 greatest quarterbacks in Gators history
By John Buhler
Wayne Peace definitely takes it up a notch, as we have entered the top 10. The Lakeland native initially signed with the Gators in 1980 to play for head coach Charley Pell. Peace was to back up Bob Hewko, but had to start playing early as a freshman in 1980. Peace would never relinquish his starting job until he had exhausted his eligibility in 1983.
Peace became a record-setting quarterback for the Gators, especially for his accuracy as a passer. He set a then-NCAA record by completing 70.7 percent of his balls as a junior in 1982. BYU’s Steve Young would break that the following year in 1983. Peace’s career 61.6 completion percentage was a Florida record until Tim Tebow came along.
But Peace was more than just a signal-caller who found the open target more often than not; he was an instrumental piece in Florida’s rise to national prominence. He led the Gators to four bowl games, including a No. 6 ranking in the final AP Poll in 1983. This was the highest Florida had ever been ranked to end a season up to that point.
Peace would be named Second-Team All-SEC and an All-American honorable mention for his terrific senior season of 1983. He completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 2,079 yards, 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. While he had more picks (40) than touchdowns (34) at Florida, Peace would end up being one of the better quarterbacks in Florida history that didn’t play for Steve Spurrier in college.
Interestingly enough, Peace would briefly play in the USFL for the Tampa Bay Bandits, coached by none other than the Head Ball Coach himself. Peace tried to catch on to a few NFL teams, but never made it out of camp with either the Miami Dolphins or the then-San Diego Chargers.
In 3.5 years as the Florida starting quarterback, Peace completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 7,206 yards, averaging 7.3 yards per attempt and yielding a passing efficiency rating of 125.9. More importantly, the Gators went 28-12-1 in the 41 games Peace was their starting quarterback. While their have certainly been better quarterbacks in Florida history since him, it’s hard to discount what Peace did in Gainesville in the early 1980s.