All-Time Favorite Gator DE

[AlexDaGator]

I'll start it by throwing out Jack Youngblood, Trace Armstrong, Kevin Carter, Alex Brown, Jarvis Moss, Carlos Dunlap, and Dante Fowler.

The BEST has to be Youngblood. I'd like to hear somebody argue against him. But this thread is for your FAVORITE.

My favorite has to be Alex Brown. That game against Tennessee, and what he did to Georgia. I know he took plays (and seemingly entire games) off, but when the lights shined the brightest, he was at his best.

Who is your favorite? And don't say Kearse. He came here as a safety (hence his number 42) and moved to LB. He played DE for the Titans, not for the Gators.


Alex.

 

[MJMGator]

Kearse.

 

[stephenPE]

Wilbur was not a DE but what he did to USC chasing down the TB was much like a DE

 

[Gatorphan]

Kevin Carter

 

[deuce]

My favorite is Jack Youngblood....... Toughest SOB I've ever met, on the field or in life....

 

[CGgater]

Great question! Not sure I can answer that. Too young to see Youngblood at UF. Brown vs ut was fun to watch, but the Moss/Harvey duo went thermo-nuclear vs the nuts, plus Moss made the block heard 'round the world that year. So I'm thinking Moss with honorable mentions to Brown and Carter, plus Wilber as the first "Buck" who didn't actually have that type of label put on him - I wonder if Pell just told him to follow his gut and go after the ball.

Oh, and Youngblood was a stellar Gator rep, including his NFL HOF speech.

That's my rambling logic.

 

[InstiGATOR1]

One of my early favorites was Preston Kendrick. A walk-on who was picked in the NFL draft who was a physical guy in a day of physical play.

 

[Okeechobee Joe]

One of my early favorites was Preston Kendrick. A walk-on who was picked in the NFL draft who was a physical guy in a day of physical play.

Preston Kendrick Number 90 brother of big Vince Kendrick fullback for the Gators.

 

[crosscreekcooter]

From Wiki (I encourage you to read the entire page) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Youngblood

"My sophomore year, we were in Tallahassee and I ran a reverse very early in the game, and I remember being nailed by Jack Youngblood. I remember watching the ball being pitched to me and thinking, when the ball was about halfway, that it was kind of race to see whether he was going to get to the ball first or me. He was foaming at the mouth. I still have nightmares from the hit he gave me.″

Barry Smith, Florida State University wide receiver[75]

 

[Gatordiddy]

Oh, and Youngblood was a stellar Gator rep, including his NFL HOF speech.

From the induction speech:

"There was a baseball coach at the University of Florida many years ago. He was scouting our territory and he saw a young man playing football in 1966. And he saw something in a young man playing the game that nobody else noticed. Coach Dave Fuller, he's smiling right now, he's not with us anymore either. But I want to thank coach Graves, coach Ray Graves, who was my football coach at the University of Florida, for believing in a wise man - coach Dave Fuller. He saw a potential in a football player and they made me a Gator. Not just for four years but they made me a Gator for life."

 

[MatthewM.]

Got to be a tie between Duke Lemmens and Justin Trattou.

 

[LagoonGator68]

Youngblood missed 1 game in 14 years with the Rams....7 Pro Bowls....played the entire '79 season including the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl with a fractured left fibula...

 

[B52G8rAC]

Jack Youngblood. Got to watch him play my first two years at Florida. We were playing Kentucky in Tampa (a Kentucky home game if I remember correctly) at the old stadium. He got injured in the first half and Kentucky was on the verge of beating us. Jack came in in the third quarter (standing ovation) and not only terrorized the Kentucky backfield but inspired the offence. Good guys win. After he graduated, he came back to finish his degree and was at an intramural flag football for his fraternity. I was on the field against his team and remember him as being the biggest, fastest man I have ever seen during warm-ups. Also heard him order a loaf of toast at the College Inn one Saturday for breakfast. Great Gator.

 

[MertzJay26]

Too young to say Youngblood so I'll go Fowler. Loved his demeanor and he seemed to always have fun. Pretty good player too :)

 

[biggator6]

Huey Richardson.. beast on the field and nicest guy ever off of it. Shame how his NFL career panned out, but he's not exactly hurting - the guy was no dummy.

 

[Yankeetown]

I didn't see Jack Youngblood play for the Gators, I was out of the country then. But of the guys I did see play, I'm having a tough time picking between Kevin Carter, Trace Armstrong and Dante Fowler. All were very consistently great. Hope Dante has as much success in his NFL career as the others.

 

[Swamp Queen]

Had this guy as a guest speaker at a meeting I helped plan back in 2008. Heard he was pretty good.

 

[Silky Johnston]

Got to be a tie between Duke Lemmens and Justin Trattou.

This trick ass hornswaggle skip skap talking about Lemmens and Trattou!

I wish I had two extra hands so I could give these selections four thumbs down.

 

[Okeechobee Joe]

Lynn Matthews, All-SEC and All-American, who played for Ray Graves. Big play man.

 

[78]

Kearse.

Kearse didn't play DE until the NFL. He was the SAM backer on the '96 championship team.