Ranking the Top 25 Florida football players in last 25 years: A tough list to crack

It’s been a captivating first quarter of the century for Florida football, filled with the highs of winning national championships and the lows of losing to Georgia Southern.

Through those 25 years, the Florida Gators have developed their share of iconic players, ones that roll off the tongue without second thought and have gone on to NFL success.

Coming up with a list of the best 25 players in the last 25 years was tricky. One criteria: A player must end his career at UF, which disqualifies cornerback Janoris Jenkins, a former All-SEC standout who was a key player in UF’s 2008 national title run. Jenkins transferred to North Alabama for his final season.

Florida players who started their college careers before the year 2000 but played in a UF uniform once the century turned are eligible.

The list was composed based off of a combination of players who earned All-American honors, their impact on winning and the eye test, which is subjective, open to debate and scrutiny. But that’s part of the fun, right?

So here’s The Gainesville Sun’s list of the Top 25 players since 2000:

1. Tim Tebow, Florida football QB

Tebow was recently named to the AP’s all-time All-America team as first-team quarterback based on a college career from 2005-09 that included 9,285 yards and 88 TDs and 2,947 yards rushing and 57 rushing TDs. He still holds the UF record for rushing TDs (57) and is tied for second in passing TDs (88). Tebow won the Heisman Award in 2007, the Maxwell Award in 2008 and helped lead Flordia to two national titles (2006 and 2008). He went a combined 26-2 as a starter over his last two seasons at UF, including a 13-1 record during UF’s national championship season in 2008.

2. Percy Harvin, Florida football WR

A two-time, first-team All-American, Harvin was an electric all-purpose offensive and special teams player in former head coach Urban Meyer’s spread offense and was also part of two national title teams during his UF career (2006-08). Harvin finished his UF career with 1,929 yards receiving, 1,852 yards rushing and a combined 32 TDs (19 rushing, 13 receiving).

3. Rex Grossman, Florida football QB

A first-team All-American and Heisman Trophy runner-up to Eric Crouch in 2001, Grossman ranks fifth on UF’s all-time list passing yards (9,164), second in passing yards in a season (3,896) and fourth in passing TDs (77). Grossman led the Gators to an SEC title in 2000 and an Orange Bowl appearance in 2021.

4. Alex Brown, Florida football DE

Brown followed up a second-team All-American season in 2000 with a first-team All-American season in 2001. He remains UF’s all-time leader in career sacks (33) and sacks in a season (13 in 1999). Brown was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2001 and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.

5. Joe Haden, Florida football CB

A freshman All-American in 2007 and first-team All-American in 2009, Haden was the top cover corner in a UF secondary that smothered opposing SEC teams during its national title in season in 2008. Haden finished his UF career with eight career interceptions, including a memorable pick against former Georgia quarterback Mattew Stafford in 2008, fueling UF’s 49-10 rout of the rival Bulldogs.

6. Maurkice Pouncey, Florida football C

Pouncey was the leader on the Florida football offensive line that won a national title in 2008. He earned freshman All-American honors in 2007, first-team All-American honors in 2009 and won the Rimington Trophy in 2009, given to college football’s top center.

7. Kyle Pitts, Florida football TE

Pitts was a first-team All-American in 2020 and won the Mackey Award, given to college football’s best tight end. He finished his UF career (2018-20) with 1,492 receiving yards and 18 TDs, averaging 14.9 yards per catch in former Florida coach Dan Mullen’s spread offense.

8. Brandon Spikes, Florida football LB

Spikes was a first-team, All-American at linebacker in 2008 and 2009 and was the defense’s leader on UF’s 2008 national title team. He finished his UF career (2006-09) with 307 career tackles, 6.5 sacks and 6 interceptions, including 4 returned for TDs. Spikes has returned to the UF football staff as an assistant director of player development under head coach Billy Napier.

9. Reggie Nelson, Florida football S

The adage during UF’s national title season in 2006 was, “two-thirds of the earth is covered in water, the rest is covered by Reggie Nelson.” A first-team All-American in 2006, Nelson finished his UF career with 97 tackles, four sacks and seven interceptions in two seasons, including one returned for a TD. Six of his seven picks came during the 2006 season.

10. Aaron Hernandez, Florida football TE

Hernandez was a first-team All-American in 2009 and won the Mackey Award, given to the best tight end in college football. A key pass-catching target during UF’s national title season in 2008, Hernandez finished his Florida career with 111 catches for 1,382 yards and 12 TDs. His post-Florida career was a notrious one, as in 2015 he was convicted of the first-degree murder of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player who was dating Hernandez’s fiancee’s sister. He committed suicide in 2017 while serving a life sentence in prison in Massachusetts.

11. Mike Pearson, Florida football OT

Pearson was a first-team All-American tackle in 2001 who protected quarterback Rex Grossman’s blindside. He played 40 games and made 33 starts on UF’s offensive line from 1998-2001 and was a two-time, SEC Academic Honor Roll selection.

12. Lito Sheppard, Florida football CB

Sheppard was a first-team All-American for the Gators in 2000 and a second-team All-American for UF in 2001, emerging as one of the top cover corners in the SEC. He finished his UF career (1999-2001) with 87 tackles and eight interceptions, including one returned for a TD. In addition to defense, Sheppard was a weapon on special teams for UF, averaging 11.4 yards per punt return and 22.5 yards per kickoff return with two punt returns for TDs.

13. Jabar Gaffney, Florida football WR

A first-team, All-American in 2000 and 2001, Gaffney posted back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, finishing his UF career with 138 catches for 2,375 yards and 27 TDs in two seasons. Gaffney’s 2,375 receiving yards rank second all-time in UF history behind Carlos Alvarez (a.k.a. the Cuban Comet), who posted 2,563 yards between 1969-71.

14. Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida football CB

Hargreaves was a third-team All-American for UF in 2013 before ascending to first-team, All-American status in 2014 and 2015. He recorded 10 career interceptions in three seasons (2013-15), with 121 tackles, 27 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 forced fumble.

15. Keiwan Ratliff, Florida football CB

A consensus first-team All-American in 2003, Ratliff holds the UF single-season record for interceptions (nine in 2003) and his 13 career interceptions rank sixth on UF’s all-time list. Ratliff is also tied for the UF record with three in one game against Arkansas on Oct. 18, 2003. Ratliff (2000-03) also set a UF record for punt return yardage (860) and was recognized by the Sporting News as the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2003.

16. Kyle Trask, Florida football QB

Trask holds the Florida football single-season record for passing yards (4,283 in 2020), a season in which he earned second-team All-American honors. Trask’s 43 TD passes in 2020 is also a season record and his 69 career TDs rank sixth on UF’s all-time career list. A two-year starter, Trask helped lead UF to an Orange Bowl appearance in 2019 and a Cotton Bowl trip in 2020.

17. Brandon James, Florida football RB/PR/KR

A second-team All-American in 2007 and first team All-American in 2008, James is arguably the greatest return man in UF football. He recorded five career returns for TDs (four punts and one kickoff) for UF from 2006-09, averaging 11.7 yards per punt return and 24.3 yards per kickoff returns. James added four career TDs rushing and receiving at UF and was a track standout, running a personal best 10.43 seconds in the 100 meters in 2005.

18. Shannon Snell, Florida football OG

Snell was a first-team, All-American for UF in 2003 and was a three-year starter, appearing in 46 games with 36 starts from 2000-03. After a two-year NFL career, Snell has found success at a pitmaster with Sonny’s BBQ, appearing on the Food Network’s ‘BBQ Brawl’ last year.

19. Matt Elam, Florida football S

A first-team All-American in 2012, Elam was a playmaker in the UF secondary. From 2010-12, Elam tallied six career interceptions, three career forced fumbles and 176 tackles, including 24 tackles for loss and five sacks.

20. O’Cyrus Torrence, Florida football OG

Torrence was a consensus All-American after transferring from Lousiana to play for Napier in 2022. He started 11 of 13 games for the Gators and was part of an offensive line that surrendered just 17 sacks in 13 games.

21. Sharrif Floyd, Florida football DT

A first-team All-American (Sporting News) in 2012, Floyd emerged as a leader on UF’s defensive front. Floyd finished his two-year UF career with 92 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and one forced fumble.

22. Caleb Sturgis, Florida football K

A first-team All-American in 2012, Sturgis holds UF records for career field goals (70) and field goals in a season (24). Sturgis made 79.5% of his career field goal attempts from 2008-12.

23. Kadarius Toney, Florida football WR

A second-team All-American in 2020, Toney was a two-way threat in former Florida coach Dan Mullen’s offense, similar to Percy Harvin. He had seven catches for 984 yards and 10 TDs in 2020 and finished his UF career with 1,590 yards receiving, 580 yards receiving and a combined 14 TDs (12 rushing, 2 receiving).

24. Ahmad Black, Florida football S

A second-team All-American in 2010, Black was another key player in the secondary during UF’s 2008 national title run. Black’s 13 career interceptions tie for 4th all-time in UF history and his seven picks in 2008 tied for third on UF’s single-season interception list.

25. Chris Leak, Florida football QB

A freshman All-American in 2003, Leak is UF’s all-time leader in passing yards (11,213) and tied for second in passing TDs (88). A four-year starter, Leak was the starting quarterback in UF’s national title season in 2006, leading the Gators to a 13-1 record and a 41-14 win over Ohio State in the BCS title game in Glendale, Ariz.

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Unveiling Florida football’s best 25 players in the last 25 years

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