Florida football: Assembling the all-time Steve Spurrier team

From 1990 until 2001, Florida football rose into national prominence under head coach Steve Spurrier. The Gators were 122-27-1 under Spurrier and won the 1996 national championship over Florida State.

Suprrier would leave the program to pursue the NFL before returning to the college ranks with South Carolina.

Retired from coaching today, Spurrier’s impact on Florida football can still be felt today, and the field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is named in his honor.

So we here at Hail Florida Hail wanted to take a trip down memory lane and pick out the best player from each position to play for Steve Spurrier during his time in Gainesville.

Florida Football Steve Spurrier Team QB: Danny Wuerffel

Let’s get the most obvious one out of the way first. Even though Rex Grossman got robbed of the Heisman in 2001, Spurrier’s final season with the Gators, there is only one actual choice when picking out the quarterback for the all-time Steve Spurrier team.

Danny Wuerffel was the perfect quarterback for Suprrier’s system and joined Suprrier as the second Heisman winner in school history in 1996.

A four-year starter from 1993 through 1996, Wuerffel racked up 10,875 yards passing with a completion percentage of 60.5%.

He had 114 touchdowns against just 42 interceptions.

He also had a staggering 9.3 passing yards per attempt, still the highest in program history of any QB with at least 200 attempts.

During his Heisman campaign season, Wuerffel accounted for 3,625 yards and 39 touchdowns. After getting pummeled by FSU in their November matchup, Wuerffel moved back into shotgun during the rematch and torched FSU for 304 yards and three touchdowns.

Wuerffel helped solidify the legitimacy of the Gators even if his NFL career didn’t pan out.

Florida Football Steve Spurrier Team WR1: Jabar Gaffney

Wuerffel threw to some all-time iconic receivers during his time with the Gators. Reidel Anthony, Ike Hilliard, or Jacquez Green could have all taken this spot of WR1, and we feel like we wouldn’t get yelled at.

Even the likes of Jack Jackson or Chris Doering could fill this spot.

But even though he only played two seasons with Florida football, Jabar Gaffney sits second on the all-time receiving list with the Gators.

During his freshman campaign in 2000, Gaffney had 71 catches for 1,184 yards and 14 touchdowns.

He essentially tied those numbers in 2001, catching 67 passes for 1,191 yards and 13 touchdowns.

He went on to an 11-year career in the NFL, where he was a reliable third receiver for five teams.

WR2: Reidel Anthony

While he didn’t make it as WR1, having Reidel Anthony as your secondary option at wide receiver feels like it is cheating.

His first two years were pedestrian, making 30 catches for 615 yards in 1995 and just 24 catches for 366 yards in 1995.

But Anthony is remembered for his 1996 campaign, where he racked up 72 catches for 1,293 yards. That’s 18 yards per catch for those keeping score at home.

In 1996, he led the SEC in receptions, receiving yards, touchdowns, and total points.

He went on to be drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round in 1997.

WR3: Ike Hilliard

Ike Hilliard had more consistent numbers than Anthony, posting 1,008 yards in 1995 and 900 yards in 1996. He was third in the SEC both seasons in that category.

He also hauled in 29 career touchdowns, tied for second on the all-time Florida football list behind Doering.

But while Hilliard had numerous highlights during his time in Gainesville, his most iconic moment came in his final game as a Florida Gator.

His “Stop-n-pop” touchdown against FSU in the 1997 Sugar Bowl is mandatory viewing for anyone starting up their fandom of the Gators.

He went on to be drafted 7th overall in 1997 by the New York Giants.

Florida Football Steve Spurrier Team TE: Erron Kinney

This was a tricky call. Ben Troupe is considered one of the best tight ends in Florida football history, and he did play for the Gators under Steven Spurrier. But during his first two years in Gainesville, he had 10 total catches. It wasn’t until Ron Zook took over that Troupe saw his role increase.

Spurrier’s offenses didn’t utilize a ton of tight ends, so the list beyond Troupe was a bit sparse.

Aaron Walker had 148 yards receiving in 2000 and 179 yards in 2001 and five touchdowns between the two years and ended up being drafted in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL Draft.

Erron Kinney gets the nod as he was drafted in the third round of the NFL Draft in 2000. His 1999 season saw him catch 16 passes for 226 yards.

He finished his Gator career with five touchdowns.

Florida Football Steve Spurrier Team RB1: Errict Rhett

This spot came down to either Fred Taylor or Errict Rhett, but while Taylor is a Florida legend in his own right, the actual decision wasn’t a hard one to make.

Rhett is Florida’s all-time leading rushing and accumulated all but 17 of his 4,163 career yards under Spurrier.

Rhett led the SEC in rushing in 1991 and in 1993 with 1,109 yards and 1,289 yards, respectively.

His 873 career rushing attempts are the fifth most in SEC history.

Rhett could catch the ball a bit too, accumulating over 1,200 yards receiving during his career as a Gator.

He would go on to be drafted in the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

RB2: Fred Taylor

If Fred Taylor has to settle as your backup running back, you are in good hands.

Taylor sits fifth on the all-time rushing list in Florida history with 3,075 rushing yards and fifth all-time for rushing touchdowns with 31.

Taylor bookended his career with a strong freshman year, two okay middle years, and a legendary senior year in 1997 that had him carry the ball 214 times for 1,292 yards, and 13 touchdowns.

He was third in the SEC in rushing attempts that season, and second in yards and touchdowns.

Taylor would be drafted 9th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1998.

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Florida Football Steve Spurrier Team LT: Kenyatta Walker

Picking out the best offensive lineman under Steve Spurrier is hard because there are no stats we can directly point to rank one lineman over the other.

Florida football had its fair share of quality linemen like Zach Piller, Cooper Carlisle, Mo Collins, Jeff Mitchell, Jason Odom, and Reggie Green.

But selected 14th overall in the 2001 NFL Draft, Kenyatta Walker was a rock-steady tackle for the Gators for three seasons.

In 2000, he was named a second-team All-American and won the SEC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy, given to the best lineman in the SEC.

He did go on to win the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but was cut after the 2006 season by the team and never played in a regular season game again.

LG: Zach Piller

During his time with the Florida Gators, Piller was at left tackle. But drafted in the third round of the 1999 draft, Piller would go on to an eight-year career in the NFL at guard.

And since finding a quality guard to fill the Steve Spurrier Team is more difficult to do than filling the tackle positions, we are going to place Piller at left guard.

C: Jeff Mitchell

Spurrier also had Cal Dixon suit up for him during the earlier years of building the team up, but Jeff Mitchell was in the middle of the 1996 offense until breaking his ankle against Georgia.

That didn’t stop Mitchell from being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 1997, and he was a member of their Super Bowl-winning team in 2000.

Mitchell would last nine years in the NFL, playing for just two teams during his time in the league.

RG: Hesham Ismail

Hesham Ismail didn’t go on the enjoy the lengthy pro career as some others on our list.

But he is the only true guard to be drafted out of Florida during the Steve Spurrier era.

After being drafted by the Steelers in 1992, Ismail spent one year in the Arena League and one year in the World American Football League before calling it quits.

RT: Mo Collins

Collins was a regular along the offensive line from 1995 to 1997.

He didn’t rack up individual accolades, but he still went on to be drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the first round of the 1998 draft and appeared in Super Bowl 37.

He played six seasons in the NFL before retiring.

Collins passed away in 2014 at the age of 38.

Florida Football Steve Spurrier Team DL: Alex Brown

The all-time sack leader for the Gators by career sacks, Alex Brown played for the Gators from 1998 through 2001.

In his sophomore year in 1999, he racked up 7.5 sacks and 12 tackles for a loss.

In 2000, he upped it to 10.5 sacks and 14 tackles for a loss.

He kept getting better, and in his senior year in 2001, he brought down the opposing QB 13 times to finish his Gator career with 33 sacks.

Brown was a first-team All-American, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

Brown would go on to be drafted by the Chicago Bears and would rack up 45..5 sacks, and 15 forced fumbles during his NFL career.

DT: Gerard Warren

Warren was a brick wall in the middle of Spurrier’s defense from 1998 to 2000.

During his junior campaign, he racked up 76 tackles with 4.5 sacks en route to being named a second-team All-American in 2000.

He finished his career with 30 tackles for loss in 22 starts and 35 overall games.

He went on to be drafted by Cleveland with the third overall pick in 2001 and went on to enjoy an 11-year career in the NFL before retiring in 2011.

DT: Ellis Johnson

The 1994 CNN Defensive Player of the Year, Ellis Johnson was another brick wall in the middle of Spurrier.

He finished his Gator career with 16 sacks and 28 tackles for a loss.

He went on to be drafted 15th overall by Indianapolis in 1995 and played ten seasons in the NFL, racking up 51 sacks.

He was inducted into the Florida Hall of Fame in 2007.

DE: Kevin Carter

On this hypothetical team, opposing offensive lines would have a nightmare in choosing who to block. If they focus their efforts on Alex Brown, Kevin Carter is waiting on the other side.

A member of the Gators from 1991 through 1994, Carter was a wrecking ball that racked up 21 sacks during his time in Gainesville, including 11.5 sacks his senior year in 1994.

He was named a first-team All-American in 1994 and was first-team All-SEC in 1993 and 1994.

He also finished his career with 42.5 tackles for a loss and was a finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year.

Carter was drafted 6th overall by the St. Louis Rams in 1995 and went on the play in the NFL for 14 seasons. He racked up 104 sacks in the NFL and won the Super Bowl in 1999 with the Rams.

Florida Football Steve Spurrier Team OLB: Jevon Kearse

This might get into a semantics argument of whether you consider Jevon Kearse a defensive end or an outside linebacker.

On Wikipedia, it states that with the Gators, “He began his college career at safety before shifting to outside linebacker in 1996.[5] Later in his college career, he occasionally lined up at defensive end during obvious passing situations to intensify the Gators’ pass rush.”

So for the purpose of this list, we are going to count The Freak as a linebacker.

Plus, if we put him as a defensive lineman, then would have to choose between him and Alex Brown, and that isn’t a choice we wanted to make.

Kearse was a member of the 1996 national championship team, was on the All-SEC team in 1997, and was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 1998.

He finished his Gator career with 145 total tackles, 16.5 sacks, and six forced fumbles.

Kearse was drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the 16th overall pick in 1999 and set the NFL Rookie record for sacks with 14.5, which still stands today. He would finish his NFL career with 74 sacks and three Pro Bowl appearances.

MLB: Johnny Rutledge

For three seasons, Johnny Rutledge patrolled the middle of the field to help keep the Gators’ defense together.

During the 1996 championship season, Rutledge had 108 tackles, with 15 going for a loss.

In 1997, he led the team in total tackles with 67 and had 10 tackles going for a loss.

He racked up 105 tackles in 1998, with 9.5 going for a loss.

He went on to be drafted by Arizona in 1999 and spent six seasons in the NFL.

OLB: Mike Peterson

Now back in Gainesville as an assistant coach, Mike Peterson knew a thing or two about the linebacker position during this time as a player under Spurrier.

He racked up 249 tackles with 8.5 sacks from 1995 through 1998. He was a first-team All-American member in 1998 as well as a first-team All-SEC member.

He went on to a 14-year NFL career with 883 career tackles and 21.5 sacks.

Peterson turned to coach upon retiring in 2013 and was the outside linebackers coach at South Carolina for six season before coming back to Florida in 2021.

Florida Football Steve Spurrier Team DB: Fred Weary

Hey, are you an opposing QB, and you are thinking of throwing toward the side that Fred Weary is lined up on?

That usually didn’t end well, as Weary racked up 15 interceptions with Florida football from 1994 to 1997.

Weary emerged as a starter during the 1996 season and was named first-team All-SEC in 1996 and 1997.

During his senior season in 1997, Weary picked off six passes and was named an All-American.

His 15 interceptions are still the most in school history, and he also had 35 pass breakups during his time in Gainesville.

He went on to be drafted in the fourth round of the 1998 NFL Draft by New Orleans and went on to a seven-year career in the NFL, where he had seven career interceptions.

DB: Lito Sheppard

So if the opposing QB thinks to themselves they would just throw to the opposite side as Weary, they would still have Lito Sheppard to deal with.

As a sophomore in 2000, he was already a first-team All-American, something that wasn’t common for the era.

His 2001 campaign resulted in a first-team All-SEC appearance.

Sheppard left Gainesville with eight career interceptions in 22 career starts.

He declared for the NFL draft and was a first-round pick in 2002 by Philidelphia. He would go on to make the Pro Bowl twice, and played in the NFL until 2011.

Safety: Will White

Will White didn’t get drafted as high as many others on this list, but his overall impact on the Florida Gators isn’t something that should be forgotten.

He was a member of the team from 1989 until 1993 and in that time, racked up 14 career interceptions, tied for the second most all-time in Florida history.

White was also fourth on the team in tackles in 1993.

Safety: Teako Brown

Picking up the slack for White after he left, Brown was with the Gators from 1995 through 1998.

Brown is the only Gator on this list to go undrafted after his senior season, but he left Gainesville tied with White for 14 career interceptions.

In 1997, Brown was third on the team in total tackles while intercepting six passes.

In 1998, Brown was also fourth on the team in total tackles and intercepted four passes.