No. 1 on the Gainesville Sun’s list of Top 30 players from the Florida football 1996 national championship team is no surprise.
Quarterback Danny Wuerffel piloted a super-charged Florida Gators offense that led the nation in total offense (503.9 ypg) while leading the SEC in scoring offense (47.0 ppg, an SEC record that still stands).
Wuerffel won the Heisman Trophy during the 1996 season and passed for 3,931 yards and 42 TDs in 13 starts, leading UF to its first national title in school history close to 30 years ago.
“It is hard to believe, and then every now and then I’ll look in the mirror and then I’ll recognize that we’re 30 years away,” Wuerffel told The Sun. “Time is a very interesting thing, but in some ways, it feels like it was three lifetimes ago — and in some ways, it feels like it was three weeks ago.”
Wuerffel pointed to the coaching wizardry of Steve Spurrier and the leadership within the team as the catalysts for the breakthrough 1996 season. When Florida suffered a 24-21 loss at rival Florida State on Nov. 30 that dropped the Gators to No. 4 in all major polls, that leadership was tested.
“When you look at Lawrence Wright and James Bates, myself and many others, after we lost that game to Florida State it was really a pivotal moment, and we could have just tucked our heads down and went on.” Wuerffel said. “Instead, we could control one thing, and that was playing Alabama.”
Florida rallied to beat the Crimson Tide 45-30 in the SEC title game. Texas then upset No. 3 Nebraska in the Big 12 title game, setting up a rematch between Florida and FSU in the Sugar Bowl. Wuerffel threw for 306 yards and 3 TDs at the Superdome in New Orleans, lifting the Gators to a 52-20 rout of Seminoles and their first national title.
“The leadership of our team through that time is really what finalized the magic that allowed that to happen,” Wuerffel said.
How national title win impacted Florida football QB Danny Wuerffel
Selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft in 1997 by the New Orleans Saints, Wuerrfel went on to play six professional seasons in the NFL and in NFL Europe.
But Wuerrfel’s legacy has extended beyond the gridiron. In the early 2000s. Wuerffel formed Desire Street Ministries, a nonprofit organization based in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans that provided programs and aid to one of the city’s most impoverished neighborhoods. The ministry was severely damaged during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but Wuerffel returned to aid in the neighborhood’s recovery efforts. Wuerffel eventually moved Desire Street Ministries to Atlanta and has expanded its reach to provide programs in inner-city areas throughout the U.S. South.
Wuerrfel remains connected to the Florida football program as well and was part of the search committee that landed new UF coach Jon Sumrall.
As a lifelong Gator, the 52-year-old Wuerffel still cherishes the bonds that remain with his former coaches and teammates. Wuerffel’s memory remains etched in bronze as one of the three statues in front of The Swamp, with his mentor, Spurrier, and fellow Heisman winner Tim Tebow.
“There’s just memories that you can’t take away and just grateful for that group,” Wuerffel said. “Coach Spurrier used to tell us you will have a lot of memories as a football player, but the ones you will never forget is if you can ever win a championship, and he was right.”
Florida football Top 30 player countdown from 1996 championship team
No. 30: Cooper Carlisle
No. 29: Ryan Kalich
No. 28 Shea Showers
No. 27 Demtric Jackson
No. 26 Travis McGriff
No, 25 Tim Beauchamp
No. 24 Cameron Davis
No. 23 Tremayne Allen
No. 22 Jevon Kearse
No. 21 Tony George
No. 20 Zach Piller
No. 19 Mo Collins
No. 18 Johnny Rutledge
No. 17 Teako Brown
No. 16 Reggie McGrew
No. 15 Terry Jackson
No. 14 Mike Peterson
No. 13 Fred Taylor
No. 12 Elijah Williams
No. 11 Donnie Young
No. 10 Fred Weary
No. 9 Anthone Lott
No. 8 Ed Chester
No. 7 James Bates
No. 6 Jeff Mitchell
No. 5 Jacquez Green
No. 4 Ike Hilliard
No. 3 Lawrence Wright
No 2 Reidel Anthony
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football Top 30 players countdown from 1996 | No. 1 Danny Wuerffel
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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By Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
