ESPN put out a list this week of the “Best college football players of all time by jersey number.” Coming in as the best player ever to wear No. 15 was Tim Tebow, a distinction that had next to no debate.
But there was another Gator who fell just short of making the list, and upon further review, it is fair to question why exactly he was beaten out for his own jersey number.
Florida great Emmitt Smith was beaten out by Doug Flutie for No. 22
On the same list, Doug Flutie was anointed the best ever to wear No. 22, beating out Emmitt Smith (along with John Cappelletti and Mark Ingram). At first glance, it makes sense given that Flutie was one of the iconic college players of the 80s, and his Hail Mary to beat Miami was one of the iconic plays of the 80s.
Flutie also had the distinction of being the first player in college history to throw for over 10,000 yards in his career and won the Heisman Trophy in 1984.
But a deeper dive into his actual stats raises the question: was he “good” or just a byproduct of a passing-based offense?
Flutie racked up a ton of passing yards, but his actual completion percentage was awful for the first three years. Yes, the 80s were a different era, but it wasn’t until that 1984 season that he was north of 60% for completion percentage. Also, are we supposed to just ignore that he threw 54 interceptions in his career, and in 1982 he had 20 INTs against just 13 TDs?
Again, the era was different, and players took more risks than they do now, but Flutie wasn’t in the top 20 for any season in Passing Efficiency Rating until his 1984 campaign.
But compared to the dominance of Smith, it’s fair to question whether Flutie’s legacy is as much a byproduct of that Hail Mary as it is of actual production. The only reason Smith isn’t the all-time leading rusher in the SEC even today is that he left after his junior year for the NFL.
Smith led the SEC in rushing in 1987 and in 1989, was in the top five in total TDs all three years in Gainesville, and was the 1989 SEC Player of the Year.
And Smith put up 1,599 yards in 1989 on a 7-5 Gator squad, so it’s not like he was surrounded by talent that could help ease the burden.
In a lot of ways, Smith’s legacy at Florida seems to get overshadowed because of what he wound up doing in the NFL. Smith racked up 18,355 rushing yards during his NFL career and is still the all-time leading rusher, with Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley being the only two active players who may have a shot to catch him.
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