Gators head coach Billy Napier slaps hands with defensive lineman Gervon Dexter before the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa. (Photo: Leslie White/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Fred Taylor's HOF Bid, Gators Officially Add QB Miller, More Tidbits
Friday, December 31, 2021 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Former Gators star running back Fred Taylor was back in the news on Thursday. It's become a trend of late around this time of year.
A semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the third consecutive year, Taylor once again did not make the cut as one of the 15 finalists for the Class of 2022, which will be announced Feb. 10.
Truthfully, I haven't given Taylor's Hall of Fame credentials much thought prior to plopping down in a chair to write the words you're now reading. I remember him mostly from his time at UF, one of the great running backs in school history.
Taylor rushed for 3,075 yards for the Gators from 1994-97, fifth on the school's career-yardage list. Taylor capped his college career in memorable fashion by shredding Penn State for 234 yards on 43 carries in a 21-6 victory over the Nittany Lions in the Citrus Bowl. The 43 carries stand as the single-game school record when counting bowl games, and the 234 yards trail only the school-record 316-yard output of Emmitt Smith against New Mexico in 1989.
Then-Gators head coach Steve Spurrier and running backs coach Carl Franks met with Taylor the night before the game to tell him to get a good night's sleep and be ready for a heavy workload. In Penn State's 49-14 loss to Michigan in the regular-season finale, the Wolverines ran away with a win. Spurrier decided that would be the Gators' plan of attack.
Spurrier dialed up only 20 passes from the three-headed quarterback of Noah Brindise, Doug Johnson and Jesse Palmer. Instead, it was Taylor, Taylor and more Taylor.
"They thought they could come down here and play smash-mouth football,'' Taylor said after the game. "They thought that the SEC is soft. We proved them wrong."
A first-round pick by Jacksonville in the 1998 NFL Draft, Taylor parlayed an early-season injury to starting tailback James "Little Man" Stewart into a launching pad for his professional career. In his first game as Jacksonville's go-to ball carrier, Taylor scored on a 52-yard run, rushed for 128 yards and caught nine passes for 85 yards in a victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
A star was born.
Taylor rushed for 11,695 yards and 66 touchdowns in 13 NFL seasons, including 11,271 yards and 62 touchdowns in 11 seasons with the Jaguars from 1998-2008. According to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Taylor is the 17th all-time leading rusher in NFL history. Of the 16 players ahead of him, the 14 eligible for the Hall of Fame are already enshrined in Canton. Only Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson, who remain active, are not in the Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, Taylor finished his career with more rushing yards than Hall of Famers such as O.J. Simpson, John Riggins, Terrell Davis, Larry Csonka, Earl Campbell and Jim Taylor.
If you go by statistics alone, Taylor is worthy of a place in Canton. Of course, voters consider much more than statistics when evaluating inductees into the game's ultimate shrine, and Taylor playing for the small-market Jaguars for the bulk of his career and his lack of defining postseason moments certainly weigh against him.
Taylor was inducted in the UF Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. However, Taylor has not been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, which has perhaps the most uneven criteria for all hall of fames.
Don't expect the debate around Taylor to subside soon. He is knocking at the door like his former Jacksonville teammate Tony Boselli, one of the 15 finalists this year. It's difficult to project how his odds will fluctuate over the coming years. We've seen players get passed over for years and then finally turn voters in their favor.
Here's an idea: first, he should be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. That version of Taylor is a no-brainer if I had a vote.
A final thought: Happy New Year to everyone out there! Hope 2022 is a great one for us all. We're due.
QUICK READS
-- Speaking of UF Hall of Famers, former Gators standout defensive back Keiwan Ratliff is no longer with the program. Ratliff returned to UF as an assistant director of player personnel during Dan Mullen's tenure but was not retained during the recent coaching transition. "Getting a chance to come back to UF and put on that orange and blue, be part of the team again and run out of the tunnel is an experience I'll always cherish," Ratliff told Zach Abolverdi of On3.com. "I'm just happy that my university opened the door for me to get into the college game. I'll always be a Gator."
-- The Gainesville Sun packaged its best Gators photos of 2021 together in a photo blog.
-- A story on the finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame by Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com.
TOPICAL TWEETS
Former Ohio State quarterback Jack Miller III has officially joined the Gators. Miller was ranked the 14th pro-style quarterback in the country by 247Sports.com in the Class of 2020. He played sparingly in two seasons at Ohio State and provides the Gators experience at the position heading into 2022 ...
Incoming Gators defensive back Kamari Wilson ...
Longtime Gators football staffer Ryan McNamara says goodbye ...
ICYM, former Gators receiver Jacob Copeland has landed at Maryland ...
We'll exit where we started, taking a closer look at Fred Taylor ...
A semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the third consecutive year, Taylor once again did not make the cut as one of the 15 finalists for the Class of 2022, which will be announced Feb. 10.
Truthfully, I haven't given Taylor's Hall of Fame credentials much thought prior to plopping down in a chair to write the words you're now reading. I remember him mostly from his time at UF, one of the great running backs in school history.
Taylor rushed for 3,075 yards for the Gators from 1994-97, fifth on the school's career-yardage list. Taylor capped his college career in memorable fashion by shredding Penn State for 234 yards on 43 carries in a 21-6 victory over the Nittany Lions in the Citrus Bowl. The 43 carries stand as the single-game school record when counting bowl games, and the 234 yards trail only the school-record 316-yard output of Emmitt Smith against New Mexico in 1989.
Then-Gators head coach Steve Spurrier and running backs coach Carl Franks met with Taylor the night before the game to tell him to get a good night's sleep and be ready for a heavy workload. In Penn State's 49-14 loss to Michigan in the regular-season finale, the Wolverines ran away with a win. Spurrier decided that would be the Gators' plan of attack.
Spurrier dialed up only 20 passes from the three-headed quarterback of Noah Brindise, Doug Johnson and Jesse Palmer. Instead, it was Taylor, Taylor and more Taylor.
"They thought they could come down here and play smash-mouth football,'' Taylor said after the game. "They thought that the SEC is soft. We proved them wrong."
A first-round pick by Jacksonville in the 1998 NFL Draft, Taylor parlayed an early-season injury to starting tailback James "Little Man" Stewart into a launching pad for his professional career. In his first game as Jacksonville's go-to ball carrier, Taylor scored on a 52-yard run, rushed for 128 yards and caught nine passes for 85 yards in a victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
A star was born.
Taylor rushed for 11,695 yards and 66 touchdowns in 13 NFL seasons, including 11,271 yards and 62 touchdowns in 11 seasons with the Jaguars from 1998-2008. According to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Taylor is the 17th all-time leading rusher in NFL history. Of the 16 players ahead of him, the 14 eligible for the Hall of Fame are already enshrined in Canton. Only Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson, who remain active, are not in the Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, Taylor finished his career with more rushing yards than Hall of Famers such as O.J. Simpson, John Riggins, Terrell Davis, Larry Csonka, Earl Campbell and Jim Taylor.
If you go by statistics alone, Taylor is worthy of a place in Canton. Of course, voters consider much more than statistics when evaluating inductees into the game's ultimate shrine, and Taylor playing for the small-market Jaguars for the bulk of his career and his lack of defining postseason moments certainly weigh against him.
Taylor was inducted in the UF Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. However, Taylor has not been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, which has perhaps the most uneven criteria for all hall of fames.
Don't expect the debate around Taylor to subside soon. He is knocking at the door like his former Jacksonville teammate Tony Boselli, one of the 15 finalists this year. It's difficult to project how his odds will fluctuate over the coming years. We've seen players get passed over for years and then finally turn voters in their favor.
Here's an idea: first, he should be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. That version of Taylor is a no-brainer if I had a vote.
A final thought: Happy New Year to everyone out there! Hope 2022 is a great one for us all. We're due.
QUICK READS
-- Speaking of UF Hall of Famers, former Gators standout defensive back Keiwan Ratliff is no longer with the program. Ratliff returned to UF as an assistant director of player personnel during Dan Mullen's tenure but was not retained during the recent coaching transition. "Getting a chance to come back to UF and put on that orange and blue, be part of the team again and run out of the tunnel is an experience I'll always cherish," Ratliff told Zach Abolverdi of On3.com. "I'm just happy that my university opened the door for me to get into the college game. I'll always be a Gator."
-- The Gainesville Sun packaged its best Gators photos of 2021 together in a photo blog.
-- A story on the finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame by Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com.
TOPICAL TWEETS
Former Ohio State quarterback Jack Miller III has officially joined the Gators. Miller was ranked the 14th pro-style quarterback in the country by 247Sports.com in the Class of 2020. He played sparingly in two seasons at Ohio State and provides the Gators experience at the position heading into 2022 ...
Let's welcome @jackjamesmiller to The Swamp! 🐊 #ChosenFew22 pic.twitter.com/Rwy4mr26Jf
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) December 31, 2021
Incoming Gators defensive back Kamari Wilson ...
#Gators signee Kamari Wilson with the INT in 7on7 work. pic.twitter.com/lVywqovlzh
— CONNER (@CJ_Clarke1) December 31, 2021
Longtime Gators football staffer Ryan McNamara says goodbye ...
Thank you for everything, @UF pic.twitter.com/1kFhJiSimF
— Ryan McNamara (@CoachMcNamara9) December 29, 2021
ICYM, former Gators receiver Jacob Copeland has landed at Maryland ...
WRU just leveled up again.
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) December 24, 2021
Welcome to the family, @JCope1era! #TBIA pic.twitter.com/KPvCE5HQk5
We'll exit where we started, taking a closer look at Fred Taylor ...
We'll just leave this here @ProFootballHOF. @FredTaylorMade | #GatorMade pic.twitter.com/HYx6oktrqV
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) December 31, 2021
Players Mentioned
WR
/ FootballAaron Chiles Media Availability 10-15-25
Wednesday, October 15
Damieon George Jr. Media Availability 10-15-25
Wednesday, October 15
Billy Napier Media Availability 10-15-25
Wednesday, October 15
Gator Insider presented by Talon Wealth 10-15-25
Wednesday, October 15
