2002 Football Roster
Roster
Ben Troupe
- Height:
- 6-5
- Weight:
- 255
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Augusta, Ga.
- High School:
- Butler
Drafted in the second round as the 40th overall pick by the Tennessee Titans...
CAREER: Played in 39 games with 20 starts for 2,048 plays... Played in the 2002 Orange Bowl....64 pass receptions for 958 yards (14.9 avg.) and seven touchdowns...
2003: Started all 13 games and had 39 receptions to tie for the best total on the squad...Had 638 receiving yards and tied for the tops with five touchdowns, both of which led the team ...First TE to lead UF in touchdown receptions since 1980...One of three finalists for the John Mackey Award, an honor given to the nation's top TE...Named a first-team All-American by The Sporting News...In addition, was chosen as an All-American by SI.com and Rivals.com...Was a All-SEC Coaches' first team honoree as well as a Collegefootballnews.com All-SEC selection...Was the only TE in the country to finish with at least 500 receiving yards and five touchdown catches, while still averaging at least 15 yards per reception...Finished with a team-high 15 offensive "Big Plays," catching at least one 20-plus yard pass in seven separate games including six of the final seven games of the year...Averaged 16.4 yards per reception - the second highest total among Mackey Award semi-finalists...Led the team in receiving yards in four games, and receptions twice...Set two of the top three receiving performances by a tight end in school history vs. Florida State (121 yards (2nd)) and Tennessee (106 yards (3rd))...Had a career-day against Florida State with a career-high in yards (121), touchdowns (2) as all four receptions went for 25-or-more yards, including a career-long 40-yarder...With the 121-yard performance against the Seminoles, came one yard short of tying the school record for most yards in a game by a tight end...Finished the Tennessee game with a career-high five catches....Had a team-best 58 yards on two catches in the win over No. 4 Georgia, including a 21-yarder in the final offensive drive of the game that led to a game-winning field goal in the final minute of the game...Had an 18-yard highlight reel touchdown reception against Ole Miss in which he broke numerous tackles on his way to the end zone...Led the receivers with five receptions against Arkansas to match career-high...39 catches was more than his three-year total entering his senior season...Named a UF game captain for the San Jose State, Kentucky, Georgia and Iowa games....
2002: Started six of the first seven games (UAB, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ole Miss, LSU) when the Gators lined up in a two-end formation...Played in the first 10 games before missing the South Carolina and FSU games after suffering a high ankle sprain at Vanderbilt...Returned to action vs. Michigan...445 plays rank second among tight ends...15 catches for the year was six more than he caught in his first two seasons...Caught game-winning touchdown in the opening drive of the fourth quarter in win over undefeated No. 5 Georgia...Set a then career-high in catches (4) and yards (47) vs. Georgia...Set up a touchdown with a career-long 27-yard catch in the fourth quarter vs. Michigan in the Outback Bowl...Also a member of extra point/field goal, kick return and punt coverage teams...
2001: Played a top role at tight end...Played in all 11 regular season games, for 268 plays, and the Orange Bowl...Nine catches on the season for 98 yards (10.9 avg.) and a touchdown...Nine catches were second most among Gator tight ends...Caught a 16-yard touchdown, the first of his career, vs. Mississippi State....Named squad's Most Improved Tight End during spring drills...
2000: A backup at tight end as a true freshman...Played in four of 12 regular season games (Ball State, Middle Tennessee, Kentucky and Auburn) for 33 plays...One catch for 22 yards on the season...Caught first career pass, a 22-yard reception, vs. Ball State in season opener...
PREP: A tight end who garnered All-American recognition...Named to PrepStar's All-America Team and that publication ranked him among the top five tight end prospects in the southeast...29 catches for 405 yards and five TDs in 1999...One of four tight ends named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Georgia Top 75 Squad...High school coach was David Land...
MAJOR: Sociology
| CAREER RECEIVING STATISTICS | |||||
| YEAR | NO. | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
| 2000 | 1 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| 2001 | 9 | 98 | 10.9 | 1 | 22 |
| 2002 | 15 | 200 | 13.3 | 1 | 27 |
| 2003 | 39 | 638 | 16.4 | 5 | 40 |
| Totals | 64 | 958 | 14.9 | 7 | 40 |
CAREER HIGHS:
Receptions: 5 (twice, last vs. Arkansas, 2003)
Receiving Yards: 121 (FSU, 2003)
Receiving Touchdowns: 2 (FSU, 2003)
