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Begin forwarded message: > From: Woody Bass <[email protected]> > Date: October 18, 2012 8:24:19 AM CDT > To: WXIA <[email protected]> > Subject: [gatornews] The List: Muschamp Didn't Walk On for Gators ... But > These Guys Did - GatorZone.com Mobile > Reply-To: [email protected] > > http://www.gatorzone.com/mobile/news/24043 > > The List: Muschamp Didn't Walk On for Gators ... But These Guys Did > > GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The story had some legs the last two seasons, remember? > > Florida coach Will Muschamp, who lived in Gainesville as a young boy but > moved to Georgia and became a pretty decent prep player, had hopes of being a > walk-on for the Gators. > > In 2010, the first time Muschamp, the UF coach, was to play South Carolina, > he recalled how he showed up at the Gators football office for an appointment > to meet with Steve Spurrier about walking on, but Spurrier stood him up for a > golf game. > > In 2011, Muschamp walked the story back some, saying he actually was supposed > to meet with UF’s then-administrative assistant, Jamie Speronis, rather than > Spurrier, but it was Speronis who no-showed the meeting. > > Well, it’s 2012, and it’s Gators-Gamecocks/Muschamp-Spurrier Week again, so > it should come as no surprise the story came up again Monday. > > “Jamie Speronis gets blamed for that,” Muschamp said with a smile. “It just > wasn't in the cards, for whatever reason. But that story's been blown up > pretty good. Blame Speronis. It's his fault. Call him.” > > We’ll pass. > > Instead, we’ll use the tale as the peg for our list of the week. > > Walk-ons. > > These 10 may have arrived at UF with that label, but surely didn’t play like > players unworthy of scholarships. > > > > 1 > > Kerwin Bell (1984-87) > > Bell (above) was the No. 8 quarterback on the depth chart in the fall of 1983 > and did not take a snap for Charley Pell that season. The kid from tiny Mayo, > Fla., was maybe fourth (at best) in 1984 until a few promising scrimmages put > him in contention for backup duty. Then starter Dale Dorminey blew out his > knee four days before UF’s opener against defending national champion Miami > in Tampa. Pell tabbed Bell as his starter. The Gators lost that game, a > thriller, but Bell went on to start four straight years and smash school and > Southeastern Conference records by passing with 7,585 yards and 56 > touchdowns. > > 2 > > Chris Doering (1993-95) > > A multi-sport star at P.K. Yonge across the street from the UF campus, > Doering’s route-running and excellent hands eventually earned him reps with > the regulars and he seized advantage. Boy, did he. Doering (pictured at the > top of the page, No. 28)) became a go-to guy for freshman quarterback Danny > Wuerffel after the two shared a coming-out party on Sept. 11, 1993, hooking > up for a 28-yard touchdown with three seconds left for a dramatic 24-20 win > at Kentucky. All Doering did from there is finish his career with 149 > receptions for 2,107 yards and an SEC-record 31 touchdowns. > > > > 3 > > Louis Oliver (1985-89) > > He walked on from Belle Glade, Fla., in 1985. Within two years, Oliver > (above, No. 18 in orange jersey) not only had won the starting strong safety > job, but was first-team All-SEC in 1987. In ’88, he was a first-team > All-American. When he left, Olilver did so with 11 career interceptions, a > degree in criminal justice, SEC All-Academic honors and UF’s Fergie Ferguson > Award given annually to the senior displaying the most leadership, character > and courage. Oliver was a first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in ’89 (the > 25th selection overall) and played in the NFL for eight seasons. > > 4 > > Judd Davis (1992-94) > > What he did in the rain, slop and mud against Georgia in 1993 -- went 4-for-4 > on field goals in a 33-26 upset of the Bulldogs -- was jaw-dropping, along > with the fact he went on to break Emmitt Smith’s career scoring record with > 225 points. That ’93 season, the Ocala, Fla., native was tabbed first-team > All-American and given the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best place kicker. > For his career, Davis went 33-of-38 (that’s 86.8 percent) from inside 50 > yards and in one game, a 38-14 road win at Mississippi, Davis bombed two of > four attempts from beyond midfield. He’s the only placekicker in the UF > Athletic Hall of Fame. > 5 > > Pat Moorer (1986-89) > > He rolled into town in 1985, like Oliver, at a time when the Gators needed to > mine some walk-ons because NCAA probation sanctions that whacked UF’s > scholarship numbers. A year later, Moorer was Florida’s starting inside > linebacker and the SEC Freshman of the Year. In ’88 and ’89, Moorer led the > Gators in tackles, totaling 177 those two seasons. Worth noting: Moorer is > now director of strength and conditioning at Louisville, which is 6-0 and > ranked 16th in the nation. > 6 > > Lee McGriff > > Plant High wasn’t the powerhouse it is now when McGriff was running circles > around defenders in South Tampa in the early ‘70s, but he surely had SEC > coaches -- and every coach in the state -- wondering what they missed by the > time he’d caught his last pass for the Gators. Florida didn’t throw the ball > much in those days, but when the Gators did they knew who to throw it to. > McGriff led the team in receiving in both 1973 and ’74. He averaged 18.5 > yards on 38 catches (with five TDs) as a junior and 19.4 on a league-high 36 > more (with seven TDs) as a senior. McGriff’s son, Travis, went on to dwarf > those numbers more than 20 years later (but they were throwing it a little > more by then). > 7 > > Noah Brindise > > He’s not on the list because he was a great athlete or put up crazy numbers > at the quarterback position. Brindise, out of Fort Myers, will tell you that. > But what the guy affectionately known as “Fat Dog” did during 1997 forever > will be cemented in Florida lore. A poor decision by Doug Johnson (suspended > for breaking curfew) and poor play by true freshman Jesse Palmer, moved Steve > Spurrier to go with a guy who could run the offense, make decisions, lead his > team and not turn the ball over. Witness Brindise’s remarkable drive to help > beat Auburn on the road. Still, it was his shuttling of plays with Johnson > against No. 1 Florida State -- against the Seminoles’ top-ranked defense -- > and that epic 32-29 upset many recall as the greatest game ever played in the > “Swamp” that left Brindise’s indelible mark on the program. Great guy. Great > representative of the school. Great story. > 8 > > Allen Trammel (1963-65) > > He got there the same year as Spurrier, the player, and not only became close > friends with the future Heisman Trophy winner and championship-winning coach, > but Ray Graves couldn’t keep Trammel off the field. He as one of the last of > a breed -- the two-way player -- locking down receivers as a defensive back > and catching passes from his end position. Oh, and it wasn’t like he got to > rest on special teams. That’s because what Trammel did best was return kicks. > In 1964, he averaged 17.1 yards per return and was recognized with > all-conference honors. > 9 > > John James (1969-71) > > He retired this summer as executive director of Gator Boosters, Inc., but > James was once a Gator boomer -- as in punter. An excellent one. A year after > leaving Gainesville High, James decided to walk-on, winning the punter’s post > a year later. He averaged nearly 41 yards a punt for his two seasons, went to > play 12 years in the NFL (10 with the Atlanta Falcons) and was voted to the > Pro Bowl three times. > > 10 > > James Smith (2005-08) > > Another local-makes-good story. Smith went to nearby Buchholz High, walked > for Urban Meyer[s first season and found his niche as a long-snapper. A great > one. All he did was leave UF four years later having played in 53 games, the > most in Gators history. In addition to snapping on field goals and punts, > Smith was a ball hawk covering kicks and ended his career as a team captain > the night UF defeated Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship Game at > MIami. > > > Woody (via iPhone) > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
