I lov'em walkon Gators! On 10/18/12, mail.bobparks.com <[email protected]> wrote: > This is a great article! > > Oliver Barry, CRS, GRI > Real Estate Broker > Bob Parks, LLC > 1517 Hunt Club Blvd > Gallatin TN 37066 > 615-972-4239 > 615-826-4040 > Sent from my iPhone > > 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
-- Sent from my mobile device -- 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
