Every Florida Gator to make the College Football Hall of Fame

This year’s College Football Hall of Fame ballot was recently released with three former Gators on the list, including the legendary Tim Tebow making his first appearance in the vote. Also mentioned this time around are defensive tackle Brad Culpepper and running back Errict Rhett, both of whom made a significant impact on the college game during their amateur playing days.

Currently, there are nine former Gators inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, with Steve Spurrier double-dipping as both a player and a coach. Among those already included in the hallowed halls are several names that are easily recognized, while others may be a bit obscure for some fans. Nonetheless, the Orange and Blue has representation among the greatest in college football history dating back nearly a full century.

Take a look below at members of the Florida Gators who have earned the highest honor in college football.

1975: E Dale Van Sickel (1927-29)

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Van Sickle was a hometown boy who started off at Gainesville High and would ultimately earn a spot among the “100 Greatest Players of the First 100 Years” of Florida high school football according to the Florida High School Athletic Association in 2007.

He played end for the Gators during the late 20s and helped them earn 23 wins in 29 games over his three years on campus. He was also captain and varsity letterman for both the basketball and baseball teams, and would be later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a “Gator Great” in 1975.

1986: QB Steve Spurrier (1964-66)

Courtesy: University of Florida SID

Steve Spurrier has achieved the highest level of legendary status wearing the Orange and Blue, winning a Heisman Trophy during his playing days while coaching the Gators to their first-ever national championship. He has actually earned two entries into the Hall of Fame, with the first coming in honor of his chops on the field.

During his three years on the Gainesville gridiron, Spurrier completed 56.6% of his pass attempts for 4,848 yards and 36 touchdowns against 31 interceptions. His induction was the first from the modern era of Florida football and he is also included in the Gators’ Ring of Honor.

1992: DE Jack Youngblood (1968-70)

Joe Rudis / The Tennessean-Imagn Content Services, LLC

[autotag]Jack Youngblood[/autotag] is a name that transcends his Florida roots thanks to a Hall of Fame career in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams as well as a prolific broadcasting career. But before he found glory in the professional ranks, he came to Gainesville a skinny from Jacksonville, Florida, and left a beefy man thanks to hard work in the weight room. Interestingly, he was also part of the testing cohort for the development of Gatorade.

Considered one of the top-five football players ever for the Gators, Youngblood set the bar high for future standout defensive ends such as [autotag]Trace Armstrong[/autotag], who told Gators Wire that the All-American was among his top UF alumni of all time.

2006: RB Emmitt Smith (1987-89)

Allen Dean Steele/Allsport

[autotag]Emmitt Smith[/autotag] is the second Pro Football Hall of Famer on this list thanks to his brilliant run with the Dallas Cowboys back in the 1990s. But he earned his honor in the collegiate ranks due to his bruising style of running on that brutal artificial turf the team had back in those days for 3,928 yards on 700 carries for 36 rushing touchdowns; he also caught 56 passes for 463 yards and a score.

The running back from Pensacola, Florida, finished ninth and seventh in the Heisman vote in 1987 and 89, respectively. Smith was taken with the 17th pick in the 1990 NFL draft by the Cowboys after his third year in school and is included in Florida’s Ring of Honor.

2008: LB Wilber Marshall (1980-83)

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

[autotag]Wilbur Marshall[/autotag] was an absolute beast in the linebacker corps for the Gators back in the early 1980s. He came to Gainesville and played tight end as a freshman before moving to outside linebacker, where he absolutely flourished for head coach Charlie Pell’s squads. Among many accolades from his college days, is was inducted into Florida’s Hall of Fame as a “Gator Great” as well as the Ring of Honor.

The Chicago Bears drafted him with the 11th overall pick in 1984 and won his Super Bowl in 1985 with his first professional franchise. Marshall would earn another ring with the Washington team in 1991 thanks in large part to his monstrous efforts during the playoffs.

2011: WR Carlos Alvarez (1969-71)

Foster Marshall, Jr./Florida Times-Union

[autotag]Carlos Alvarez[/autotag] is a name that is mostly unfamiliar to the newer generation of Gator fans but the wide receiver played a huge role on the teams transitioning from the 1960s to the 70s. Born in Cuba, he was brought to Florida in 1960 as a 10-year-old and would ultimately earn an athletic scholarship to the state’s flagship university.

A consensus All-American wide receiver for the Gators during his matriculation, Alvarez held the career receptions record before [autotag]Andre Caldwell[/autotag] broke it in 2007. Still, he ranks second in UF history in receiving yards in a single season — which remains the third-highest in SEC history — as well as for a single game total. He was picked by the Cowboys in the 15th round of the 1972 NFL draft despite lingering knee injuries but never signed a professional contract.

2013: QB Danny Wuerffel (1993-96)

AP Photo/Steve Coleman

[autotag]Danny Wuerffel[/autotag] was the centerpiece of the 1996 national championship team. His efforts that season helped earn Florida its first big trophy while he hauled in some serious hardware himself being awarded the second Heisman Trophy in school history, among many other accolades.

Another Gator great that hails from Pensacola, Wuerffel finished his collegiate career completing 708 of 1,170 passes for 10,875 yards and 114 touchdowns — the best in SEC history and second-most in top-tier college football history. He is also included among the “Gator Greats” as well as the Ring of Honor at Florida.

2015: WR Wes Chandler (1974-77)

AP Photo

Another name that is lesser-known to younger Gators is [autotag]Wes Chandler[/autotag], who like Alvarez was a prolific pass-catcher during his days in the Orange and Blue. Hailing from New Smyrna Beach, Florida, he played under Doug Dickey during the mid-1970s, earning first-team All-SEC and first-team All-American honors in 1976 and 1977.

Another inductee into the Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a “Gator Great”, Chandler is considered by many to be one of the best all-around football players to grace the Swamp. The New Orleans Saints were impressed enough to take him with the third overall pick in the 1978 NFL draft, where he played for three seasons and change before being traded to the San Diego Chargers, where he had the best years of his pro career.

2017: Steve Spurrier (Coach)

Jamie Squire/ALLSPORT

Spurrier’s second appearance on this list comes courtesy of his superlative coaching career, in which he elevated Florida from a regional player to a perennially national powerhouse on the gridiron. While the Head Ball Coach benefitted from the table set before him during [autotag]Galen Hall[/autotag]’s tenure, the Gator great took the ball and ran with it all the way to a national title.

After Florida, Spurrier failed to reach the college football promised land again but was still able to turn a fledgling South Carolina Gamecocks program into a force to be reckoned with. His 11 years in Columbia nearly match his 12 in Gainesville, and together, both tenures were worthy of this honor. His three seasons with Duke before returning to Florida were nothing to sneeze at either.

2020: OL Lomas Brown (1981-84)

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Last (until Tebow gets inducted) but not least is offensive lineman [autotag]Lomas Brown[/autotag], who anchored the “The Great Wall of Florida” during his tenure with the team. His efforts enabled quarterback Kerwin Bell as well as future NFL running backs Neal Anderson and Lohn L. Williams to trample the opposition en route to a 9-1-1 record in 1984, leading to Florida’s first SEC title with a 5-0-1 record.

Of course, that title would be later vacated under NCAA sanctions.

Another “Gator Great” inducted into the Florida Athletic Hall of Fame, Brown was taken with the sixth-overall pick in the 1985 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions, where he spent 11 dominant seasons on the Lions’ line blocking for Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders.

[listicle id=85296]

[listicle id=84805]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

1

1