Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It's been a legendary few weeks for Rex Grossman. 
 
First, the former Florida quarterback and 2001 Heisman Trophy runner-up was announced last month as the program's 2024 "SEC Legend" for the Southeastern Conference Championship Game weekend at Atlanta. But first, Grossman will come to town Saturday for a turn as honorary "Mr. Two Bits" before the Gators (4-5, 2-4) take on 15th-ranked LSU at Spurrier/Florida Field. 
 
"Pretty cool combo, right?" Grossman said. 
 
Grossman, the hotshot gunslinger from Indianapolis, shows up in virtually every UF single-game and career passing record after registering 677 completions (4^th) in 1,110 attempts (5^th) for 9,164 yards (5^th) and 77 touchdowns (4^th) from 2000-02 during his star-studded turn under center. 
 
 

As a freshman, he was named MVP of the 2000 SEC title game and as a sophomore in 2001 finished second to Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch in the Heisman balloting in what was the Gators' last season under Coach Steve Spurrier. Grossman chose to remain at Florida and play one season for Spurrier's successor, Ron Zook, and in 2003 became just the third quarterback in UF history taken in the first round of the NFL draft, going 22^ndoverall to the Chicago Bears. 
 
Grossman, whose best pro season came in 2006 when he started for the Bears in Super Bowl XLI against Indianapolis, played for three teams over 11 years, retiring after the 2011 seasons after starting 13 games in Washington. 
 
It's his time wearing a Florida jersey Grossman recalls most fondly. 
 
"The experience of playing for the Gators means everything in the world to me," said Grossman, now 44, married and living in Delray Beach, Fla., with Alison, his wife of 19 years. "I had the best time of my life in that era. Being able to get on the field and make things happen was the most exciting thing ever, especially coming from high school in Indiana where I played in front of 2,000 to playing in front of 90,000 on national TV. Dream come true. And now I get to come back and take it all in again."
 
Circumstances will be different, of course. Instead of a helmet and shoulder pads, Grossman will wear something akin to the yellow shirt and khaki pants made famous by George Edmonson Jr. during his nearly half-century run as one of college football's most iconic cheerleaders. 
 
"I never actually saw him on the field, but I remember him doing his 'Two Bits' up on the stands," Grossman said. "The year I redshirted, my head was on a swivel taking everything in. Sometimes you could see him way up in the upper deck getting the fans fired up, so I learned about the legend pretty quickly."
 
Then Grossman became a legend on his own.  It didn't happen right away. Grossman had to compete with Jesse Palmer in 2000 and Brock Berlin for the starting spot. Things changed quickly during one ho-hum non-conference game early in the season. Grossman was the No. 3 quarterback against Middle Tennessee when Palmer missed a read. 
 
"I happened to be standing next to Coach Spurrier and he was really frustrated," he recalled. "We locked eyes and he said, 'You see that?' I grinned and said, 'Yeah, I saw it.' He goes, 'Well, get in there!' I was like, 'What?' I jogged out there and my legs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds."
 
Two plays later, Grossman threw his first touchdown pass. 
 
In time, he did this:

• Freshman-record five touchdowns in a 2000 regular-season 38-7 blowout of Auburn, then four touchdowns and MVP honors in a 28-6 rematch against the Tigers in the 2000 SEC title game.
• 464 yards and five TDs in a 44-15 road rout of Nick Saban and LSU in 2001.
• 2001 Heisman finalist
• Three TDs in a 56-23 blowout of sixth-ranked Maryland in the 2002 Orange Bowl.
• First UF quarterback to start a Super Bowl.

 Now comes "SEC Legend" and "Two Bits" fame for the player Spurrier has always said was the best pure passer he ever coached.
 
"I'm excited. I have a lot of family and friends who are going to come and tailgate and have a good time," Grossman said. "I've got some 'Two Bits' studying to do on YouTube, but I'll do it right."

Email Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu