Tampabay.com
DECEMBER 23, 2006

Who's the greatest Gator of them all?

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Who's the greatest of all Gators? Hard to say. But on and off the the playing field, there are many to consider. Here are our favorites.

Top 5 greatest Gators:

5. Wilber Marshall: All-America and finalist for Lombardi Award in 1982 and 1983. Also a first-team selection in 1999 to UF's Team of the
Century. Selected in 1999 as UF's Defensive Player of the Century.

4. Jack Youngblood: Thought by many to be the best defensive end in school history. Youngblood was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992; also the first player from Florida to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame (2001).

3. Emmit Smith: One of the most highly recruited high school players of his generation, Smith went on to break 58 school records en route to rushing for 3,928 yards and  36 touchdowns -- while playing just three seasons in Gainesville.

2. Steve Spurrier: As a player, he won the Heisman Trophy. In 12 seasons as coach, he led Florida to a national title, six SEC
championships and six SEC East titles. He also coached a Heisman winner
(Danny Wuerffel), a Heisman runnerup (Rex Grossman) and 20 first-team
All Americans.

1. Danny Wuerffel: 1996 Heisman Tropy winner. Completed his career in 1996 as one of the most efficient and
productive quarterbacks in college football history. Two-time
recipient of the O'Brien National Quarterback of the Year Award
(1995-96). Won more SEC titles than any other Florida QB.

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About the blogger

Florida Gators fans, welcome to the Gator Report for all your news about Gators football, basketball and all UF sports. It's written by University of Florida beat writer Antonya English and the staff of the Tampa Bay Times. We invite your comments and participation.

E-mail Antonya English:
english@tampabay.com

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