88 days to kickoff (Counting Down with Gator Greats)

With 68 days until kickoff we celebrate center Mike Degory (2001-05).
Degory was one of the most fundamentally sound football players to ever play for the Gators. He had incredible football smarts and started all 50 games he played during his career – something only accomplished by Degory and Larry Kennedy. He anchored the offensive line during the last 2 seasons in which the Gators had a 1,000 yard rusher (2002, 2004).
Honorable Mention: Rhondy Weston, DT (1985-88)

 

With 67 days to go we honor guard John Barrow (1954-56).
G John Barrow
Barrow, from Delray Beach Atlantic via Georgia Military Academy, arrived at UF as an end, and his first college play on the freshman team was a TD reception. He was moved to guard as a sophomore and became a three-year starter. He was the SEC lineman of the year and an All-American as a senior in 1956. He played for 15 years in the CFL, later became a GM in that league and is in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Highlights of the 1956 season included conference road wins over the Mississippi State Maroons (26–0) in Starkville, Mississippi, the Vanderbilt Commodores 21–7 in Nashville, Tennessee, and the LSU Tigers 21–6 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a shutout homecoming victory over the Auburn Tigers (20–0), and a second consecutive win over the Georgia Bulldogs (28–0). Woodruff's 1956 Florida Gators started a promising 6–1–1, but lost their final two games to finish 6–3–1 overall and 5–2 in the Southeastern Conference, placing third in the SEC among twelve teams.

 

With 66 days to go we honor nose tackle Robin Fisher (1978-81).
A 6-0, 240-pound nose tackle? Yep (and the 6-foot listing is, uh, generous). Fisher, from Satellite Beach, started for most of his career from 1978-81 and used his quickness and surprising strength (he could bench 505 pounds) to amass 21 sacks (tied for eighth in school history) and 41 tackles for loss (13th). He also is eighth in school history in tackles with 348.

 

With 65 days to kickoff, we celebrate OL Jawaan Taylor (2016-18).
Originally committed to Miami, he switched his commitment to Florida.
Taylor was an unheralded recruit from Cocoa High who basically was a starter at right tackle from the moment he stepped on campus.
He was a freshman All-America selection in 2017. He turned pro after his junior season and was a second-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

 

With 64 days to go we celebrate two great Gators.

QB Walter Mayberry (1934-37).
Walter “Tiger” Mayberry was a quarterback and a halfback for the University of Florida football team. He became the Gators’ first ever All-SEC player in 1937.
Walter was also widely recognized for his punting ability.
Mayberry was the 8th pick in the first round of the 1937 NFL draft. During World War II, he became a Marine fighter pilot. His plane was shot down and he was captured.
Mayberry died in a Japanese POW camp in 1943 during an Allied air raid on Rabaul. He was one of seven former Gator football players who lost their lives in the war.



OL Burton Lawless (1972-74).
Lawless was a high school tight end at Punta Gorda Charlotte who was converted to guard during his freshman season. He became a three-year starter at guard. He earned All-American honors as a senior in 1974, when the Gators averaged 271.8 rushing yards per game. UF asked its guards to pull a lot, and Lawless’ athleticism (he also starred in basketball in high
school) served him well.

 

With 63 days to go we celebrate offensive tackle Mike Williams (1972-75).
Williams was one of the best players in the state as a high school senior at Orlando Jones in 1971 and ended up being a three-year starter for the Gators. UF ran the Wishbone in those years, and Williams helped pave the way for three of the most prolific rushing attacks in school history. He was a first-team All-SEC pick and an honorable mention All-American
as a senior in 1975.

 

With 62 days to go before kickoff we celebrate OL great Malcolm (Mac) Steen (1967-69). G/T Mac Steen
Steen, from Melbourne High, started for three seasons with the Gators; he played guard in 1967 and ’68, then moved to tackle as a senior.
He was a team captain as a senior, when he was a first-team All-SEC pick. He also was an academic All-American, and became an orthodontist.
Coach Ray Graves rated Steen as the Gators best right tackle of the 1960s.

 

With 61 days to go we celebrate two defensive greats.

DT Ellis Johnson (1991-94)
He was a do-everything player at Wildwood High, then became a three-year starter for the Gators. Johnson was stout against the run and had pass-rush skills as well.
He was MVP of the 1994 SEC championship Game victory against Alabama. Johnson is 14th in school history with 37 tackles for loss, and was a first-round pick in the 1995 draft.




DT GERARD WARREN (1998-2000)
‘Big Money’ was BIG and damn disruptive up front for the Florida defense in his time. He finished off his career with 159 tackles and 30 tackles-for-loss.
But if they counted hurt pride among offensive linemen he faced, he might be higher up on this list. He just absolutely overwhelmed the opposition.

 

With 60 days to go until kickoff we honor two great offensive linemen.

OT Mike Williams (1972-75)
Williams was one of the best players in the state as a high school senior at Orlando Jones in 1971 and ended up being a three-year starter for the Gators. UF ran the Wishbone in those years, and Williams helped pave the way for three of the most prolific rushing attacks in school history. He was a first-team All-SEC pick and an honorable mention All-American as a senior in 1975.

Billy Hinson, OL, 1982-84
Hinson signed with the Gators to play defensive tackle, but this physical athlete moved to offensive guard and became a key cog in UF’s “Great Wall” offensive line of 1984.

 

He's all legs huh?

 

With 59 days to go until kickoff we celebrate center Cal Dixon (1988-91).
Dixon, from Merritt Island High, was a backup lineman as a true freshman in 1988 (seeing time at center, guard and tackle), then started
the next three seasons at center. He was a first-team All-SEC selection in ’90 and ’91. He also was a four-time SEC academic honor roll pick.
He is one of our Jacobs winners and the only Gator to win a Jacobs and a Fergie. The Fergie Ferguson Award goes to the Gator senior who
displays great leadership and character. That he was the starting center on teams that won the 1990 (according to all sane people) and
1991 SEC championships says a lot.

 

With 58 days to go we celebrate linebacker Johnny Rutledge (1995-98).
He starred at Belle Glade Glades Central, then became a three-year starter for Florida. He was a first-team All-SEC pick as a senior in 1998 after getting a second-team nod in ’97. He was part of one of the best linebacking trios in UF history in 1998, lining up with Jevon Kearse and Mike Peterson on either side of him. Rutledge finished his career with 307 tackles and 37.5 tackles for loss.

 

With 57 days to go we honor defensive end Kevin Carter (1991-94).
Carter was a stud linebacker at Tallahassee Lincoln, but played end at UF. He was a three-year starter and is sixth in sacks (21.8) and 11th in tackles for loss (42.3) in school history.
He was an All-American as a senior in 1994, a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award and was the first defensive player selected in the 1995 NFL Draft (sixth overall).