Florida has three Heisman Trophy winners and they are all quarterbacks, thirty years apart and linked to each other. Steve Spurrier won it in 1966, came back as head coach and turned Danny Wuerffel into the 1996 winner, and Tim Tebow in 2007 became the first sophomore to win it, in an offence Urban Meyer had built around him. No Florida player has finished higher than fourth since.
| Year | Player | Coach | The season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Steve Spurrier | Ray Graves | 9 and 2, Orange Bowl win; the field goal against Auburn |
| 1996 | Danny Wuerffel | Steve Spurrier | 39 touchdown passes, national championship |
| 2007 | Tim Tebow | Urban Meyer | 32 passing and 23 rushing touchdowns, first sophomore winner |
Steve Spurrier, 1966
Spurrier threw for 2,012 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior and won the Heisman over Bob Griese of Purdue, the first winner from the SEC’s eastern half and the first from Florida. The moment that decided the vote came against Auburn in October, when he waved off the kicker with the game tied late and kicked a 40 yard field goal himself to win it. He was the third overall pick in the 1967 draft, played ten NFL seasons, and returned to Gainesville as head coach in 1990. The field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium carries his name.
Danny Wuerffel, 1996
Wuerffel threw 39 touchdown passes in the Fun ‘n’ Gun as a senior, 114 in his career, and won the Heisman over Troy Davis of Iowa State before leading Florida to its first national championship with a 52 to 20 Sugar Bowl win over Florida State. He had finished third in 1995. His career passing efficiency rating stood as the NCAA record for years, and he remains the only player to win the Heisman under a head coach who had also won it. Our national championships page covers 1996.
Tim Tebow, 2007
Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman, and the first player to pass for 20 touchdowns and run for 20 in the same season; he finished with 32 and 23. Florida went 9 and 4, which made him a rare winner from a team that did not contend, and he finished third in 2008 and fifth in 2009 while winning a national championship and 26 games in between. He left as the SEC’s career leader in rushing touchdowns and was the 25th pick of the 2010 draft.
The Runners Up and the Near Misses
Wuerffel’s third place finish in 1995 and Tebow’s third in 2008 are the closest anyone else has come. Rex Grossman finished second in 2001, losing one of the narrowest votes in the award’s history to Eric Crouch of Nebraska, and Emmitt Smith finished seventh in 1989 despite the program’s rushing record. Since Tebow, no Florida player has finished in the top five. Our Heisman winners by year page has every recipient since 1995.
Three Quarterbacks, One Line
The three winners span the program’s rise. Spurrier’s trophy came when Florida had never won the SEC. Wuerffel’s came in the season the school won its first championship, under the coach who had won the trophy thirty years earlier. Tebow’s came the year after the second title and the year before the third. No other school’s Heisman winners are tied together as directly, and the program has not had a quarterback in the conversation since Tebow left.
The Bottom Line
Florida has three Heisman winners: Steve Spurrier in 1966, Danny Wuerffel in 1996 and Tim Tebow in 2007, all quarterbacks. Spurrier coached Wuerffel to his, Tebow was the first sophomore to win, and Rex Grossman’s second place finish in 2001 is the closest anyone else has come. Our All-Americans page covers the rest of the program’s honours.