Dooley’s Dozen: 12 greatest individual performances for Florida football
We all have our favorite games in UF football history and certainly, some performances stand out more than others.
It could be a record-setting performance against a directional school or a big-game energy performance in a must-win game.
You may have been there, may have watched it on TV or, in a couple of cases, might have been told about it by your father or other older family members (although they probably embellished a few things).
Anyway, this next Dooley’s Dozen brings you the 12 individual performances that are worthy of staying in the brains of Gator fans. Take a look at what I came up with.
Carlos Alvarez, Miami, 1969
Foster Marshall, Jr./Florida Times-Union
The back story helps here because Alvarez fled Cuba as a young boy and went through a lot in Miami before coming to Gainesville. So, imagine playing against the Hurricanes as a first-year sophomore.
Believe me, it fired him up. He caught 15 passes for 238 yards in the Florida win. Last year, only three Gators caught at least 15 passes in an entire season.
Kyle Trask, Georgia, 2020
Syndication: Gainesville Sun
You have to put this in the context of the importance of this game. Or not. Because any time a quarterback throws for 474 yards and four touchdowns in a rivalry game at a neutral site, it’s pretty darn impressive.
He never flinched after Florida went down 14-0 or after he threw a pick-six. Instead, he just kept putting up perfect throws even though he lost his No. 1 weapon in the second quarter.
Joe Brodsky, Mississippi State, 1956
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
When I was a little boy, my dad would always talk about the day Brodsky had and they actually became friends. He had three interceptions against the Bulldogs, which has happened since, but he returned two for touchdowns. The first one went for 100 yards (gulp) and his 162 return yards are still a UF record. Florida shut out MSU 26-0 in Starkville to open the season.
Emmitt Smith, Alabama, 1987
Allen Dean Steele /Allsport
Emmitt had a game where he rushed for more yards, but this was a true freshman who came into the game with only a few carries just destroying the vaunted Tide defense. The final total was 224 yards and really launched his career. That career turned out pretty well.
Danny Wuerffel, Alabama, 1996
AP Photo/Steve Coleman
Think about this – Wuerffel had just been assaulted by FSU’s defense the week before and most Gator fans thought the dream was over. All he did was come back and throw six touchdown passes against Alabama in the SEC title game.
And it was a game where he needed to throw six because Alabama kept matching Florida’s scores. He threw a TD pass in every quarter including the clincher to Jacquez Green on a fly pattern down the sideline.
Kyle Pitts, Ole Miss, 2020
Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
We knew Pitts had a chance to be something special heading into the year. Florida didn’t even play him in scrimmages because they knew what he could do. Then, came COVID-19 and a schedule that started at Ole Miss. Pitts made so many big plays it was startling and finished with four touchdowns and 170 yards receiving.
Alex Brown, Tennessee, 1999
Scott Halleran/Allsport
People forget that Brown didn’t start the opener that year because he was in a fierce competition with Thaddeus Bullard at right end. But he did start against Tennessee, much to the dismay of Vols quarterback Tee Martin. He blasted Martin on the first play of the game and knocked his helmet off and then had five sacks in the game. He also had an interception.
Tim Tebow, South Carolina, 2007
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Don’t forget that in this game Percy Harvin didn’t get on the plane for whatever reason (depends on who you talk to) and Tebow had to shoulder the load for the team on offense. So, he ran for five touchdowns and threw for two more. This was the game that won him the Heisman, I believe.
Ike Hilliard, Tennessee, 1995
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Tennessee insisted on covering the slot guy with linebackers and strong safeties. So, Steve Spurrier kept putting Hilliard in the slot. And they never covered him. He caught four touchdown passes in the game and I’ll never forget him extending his hand with four fingers seconds after he caught the last one. You may prefer the FSU title game, but this was my favorite.
Rex Grossman, LSU, 2001
Andy Lyons /Allsport
Rex should have won the Heisman this year. It’s a joke that he didn’t. This was the game where I thought he locked it up. Grossman threw for 463 yards and did it in every way imaginable including a long touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney when he didn’t even see him but knew where he was supposed to be.
Jacquez Green, Kentucky, 1996
Andy Lyons /Allsport
Quezzie was a great wide receiver and is in the argument with Brandon James for best returner ever at Florida. Against the Wildcats, he put on a show with two punt returns for touchdowns. They covered 79 and 66 yards and you have to see them (Google) to believe them. He suffered from asthma and couldn’t breathe until he got his teammates off him after the last one.
Will White, Alabama, 1990
Rick Stewart/Getty Images
Spurrier had told us many times that this was the game that changed Florida football because the Gators found out how to win. And the defense was the biggest reason, especially White securing three interceptions, one on the goal line, for the Gators.
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