Top 10 quarterback-receiver duos in Gators history

[GR8 2B]

The article is too long for one post, so I've broken it up into 3 parts. Enjoy.

Florida Football: Top 10 quarterback-receiver duos in Gators history

Florida football has a rich and illustrious history that spans decades, and over that time, there have been some phenomenal quarterback and wide receiver d...

hailfloridahail.com

Florida Football QB/REC Duo No. 10: Chris Leak and Chad Jackson​

• Chris Leak: 2003 – 2006 (11,213 career yards passing, 88 touchdowns)
• Chad Jackson: 2003 – 2005 (1,586 career yards receiving, 17 touchdowns)

Most people probably best remember Chris Leak throwing to Dallas Baker during the 2006 season, and Baker had 920 yards during the championship season. As a one-time season, it was a great duo.

But during the two years prior to that, Leak teamed up with Chad Jackson to be just as productive.

In 2004, Jackson caught 28 passes for 648 yards and six touchdowns, for an insane 22.3 yards per catch.

He followed that up in 2005 with 88 catches for 900 yards and nine touchdowns.

Had Jackson not left for the NFL after 2005, we might better remember Leak and Jackson. Jackson had a year of eligibility left but wound up being drafted by New England in the second round.

Florida Football QB/REC Duo No. 9: Shane Matthews and Willie Jackson Jr.​

• Shane Matthews: 1990 – 1992 (9,287 career yards passing, 74 touchdowns)
• Willie Jackson Jr.: 1991 – 1993 (2,172 career yards receiving, 24 touchdowns)

Not to be confused with Jack Jackson, Willie Jackson Jr. was a stallworth for Steve Spurrier’s offense and a key cog in the revival of Florida football.

Willie Jackson Jr. is the son of Willie Jackson Sr., who helped break the color barrier for Florida football. In 1991, Jr. had 741 yards receiving and ten touchdowns. Florida went 10-2 and finished 7th in the AP Poll.

He followed that up with another 772 yards receiving and eight touchdowns in 1992. Florida went 9-4, including an appearance in the inaugural SEC Title Game.

He led the SEC in receiving touchdowns both seasons and was top three in receiving yards both years.

In 1993, Danny Wuerffel took over center, and Willie Jackson took a backseat to Jack Jackson, but he still racked up over 600 yards receiving that season.

Florida Football QB/REC Duo No. 8: Doug Johnson and Travis McGriff​

• Doug Johnson: 1996 – 1999 (7,114 career yards passing, 62 touchdowns)
• Travis McGriff: 1994 – 1998 (2,057 career yards passing, 15 touchdowns)

Following in the footsteps of Danny Wuerffel, Doug Johnson was an adequate QB that often gets forgotten about because his career was sandwiched between Wuerffel and Jesse Palmer.

And it’s not like Johnson was a bad QB, but he never topped 56% completion rate and had double-digit interceptions in 1997 and 1999.

In 1997, Johnson teamed up with Jacquez Green, and Green went for over 1,000 yards receiving. But given Johnson had a 55% completion rate that season, it’s hard to elevate Johnson in this duo.

He also topped that the following season when he team up with Travis McGriff for a magical 1998 campaign. McGriff finished the season with 1,357 yards receiving, which still holds up as the single-season record for Florida football.

Making that year even more unexpected is that McGriff came into the season having just 700 yards receiving over the course of four years in Gainesville.

The Gators went 10-2 that season, with crushing defeats to Tennessee and FSU to prevent another national championship.

McGriff stills pops into Gainesville from time to time and made an appearance at the Spring Game a few years back.

Florida Football QB/REC Duo No. 7: Chris Leak and Dallas Baker​

• Chris Leak: 2003 – 2006 (11,213 career yards passing, 88 touchdowns)
• Dallas Baker: 2003 -2006 (2,236 career yards receiving, 21 touchdowns)

As noted earlier, Chris Leak had better career numbers throwing to Chad Jackson. And while we are trying to focus on careers rather than one-season wonders, you can’t tell the story of the Florida Gators without including Chris Leak and Dallas Baker.

Baker had 60 receptions for 920 yards, and the duo led Florida to the 2006 BCS National Title.

What makes this duo tough to rank is that beyond the Southern Miss, Kentucky, or Vanderbilt games that season, Baker didn’t top 100 yards in any other game.

He did, however, catch a touchdown in nine of Florida’s 14 games that season, including one in the National Title game against Ohio State.

Florida Football QB/REC Duo No. 6: Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin​

• Tim Tebow: 2006 – 2009 (9,285 career passing yards, 88 touchdowns)
• Percy Harvin: 2006 – 2008 (1,929 career receiving yards, 13 touchdowns)

This is another duo that is impossible to try and actually quantify because trying to assign a position to Percy Harvin is next to impossible. He did finish his Florida career with more receiving yards than rushing yards, though he had 19 rushing touchdowns to 13 receiving.

Technically, Louis Murphy had more receiving yards than Percy in 2008, but Harvin was the main receiver for Tebow during the Heisman campaign of 2007.

In truth, both Tebow and Harvin weren’t a great duo in the sense that they needed each other to be successful. Harvin probably could have been great with almost anyone under center, and Tebow’s strength was more to plow through you than throw over you.

But having both on the field forced teams to decide which man they wanted to sell out on, and the end result was an offense impossible to stop.

 

[GR8 2B]

The article is too long for one post, so I've broken it up into 3 parts. Enjoy.

Florida Football: Top 10 quarterback-receiver duos in Gators history

Florida football has a rich and illustrious history that spans decades, and over that time, there have been some phenomenal quarterback and wide receiver d...

hailfloridahail.com

Florida Football QB/REC Duo No. 5: Danny Wuerrfel and Ike Hilliard​

• Danny Wuerrfel: 1993 – 1996 (10,875 career yards passing, 114 touchdowns)
• Ike Hilliard: 1994 – 1996 (2,214 career yards receiving, 29 touchdowns)

There were a lot of receivers that Danny Wuerrfel teamed up with at Florida football that could make a list of greatest duos all by themselves.

Chris Doering, for example, led Florida in receiving in 1995 with 1,045 yards and 17 touchdowns. And you might wonder why Doering gets left off this list when we included Wes Chandler.

Because we are factoring in the era and who else had an impact on the team. Ike Hillard was just 37 yards behind Doering that season and just two touchdowns.

But Hilliard wasn’t a one-year wonder as he went on the following year to catch another 900 yards from Wuerrfel in 1996 and 10 more touchdowns.

Wuerrfel won the Heisman that season, and Florida football won the national title for the first time.

Florida Football QB/REC Duo No. 4: John Reaves and Carlos Alvarez​

• John Reaves: 1969 – 1971 (7,549 career yards passing, 54 touchdowns)
• Carlos Alvarez: 1969 – 1971 (2,563 career yards receiving, 19 touchdowns)

Despite being the all-time leading receiver at Florida, Carlos Alvarez always feels like an afterthought when coming up with the greatest players to ever don the Gator uniform.

But during his freshman campaign in Gainesville, Alvarez teamed up with fellow freshman John Reaves to catch 1,329 yards, almost 600 more yards than the next closest player in the SEC. He also had 22 more receptions than the next closest.

Reaves wound up with 24 passing touchdowns on the season, eight more than the next closest in the SEC.

Florida went 9-1-1 that season and finished 14th in the AP poll, its highest finish ever at the time.

The duo would play two more years together, and while their numbers were still solid, they couldn’t match the sky-high numbers of 1969.

Florida Football QB/Rec Duo No. 3: Danny Wuerrfel and Reidel Anthony​

• Danny Wuerrfel: 1993 – 1996 (10,875 career yards passing, 114 touchdowns)
• Reidel Anthony: 1994 – 1996 (2,274 career yards receiving, 27 touchdowns)

For most teams, having Danny Wuerrfel and Ike Hilliard is a dream duo. Yet, for the 1996 Florida Gators, that wasn’t even their top duo.

Reidel Anthony led the NCAA with 18 touchdowns, was tops in the SEC with 1,293 receiving yards, tops in the SEC in receptions with 72, and was an All-American.

As mentioned earlier, Wuerrfel won the Heisman in 1996 after leading the SEC in passing yards, led the country in passing touchdowns, and also led the country in passing yards per attempt.

And yes, per our own rules, 1996 was the only truly special season Wuerrfel and Anthony had together. Anthony did catch 615 yards in 1995.

But when you win the first national title in school history, excuses and exceptions are made.

Florida Football QB/Rec Duo No. 2: Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts​

• Kyle Trask: 2018 – 2020 (7,386 career yards passing, 69 touchdowns)
• Kyle Pitts: 2018 – 2020 (1,492 career yards receiving, 18 touchdowns)

There is 100% recency bias here. And to be honest, to pure stat line doesn’t even justify that Kyle Pitts was the top receiver for Florida in 2020, that was Kadarius Toney.

But if the Florida Gators had any defense in 2020, or didn’t throw shoes, they win the national title.

And, if Florida has played a normal 12-game schedule that would have included the usual cupcakes as well as the 2020 version of FSU, Kyle Pitts would have had legendary numbers for a tight end.

As it was, Pitts played in eight games during the 2020 slate and still hauled in 770 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns against a strictly SEC slate. His “worst” stat line of the year was five catches for 47 yards and a touchdown against Texas A&M.

Trask was also robbed that year, throwing for over 4,000 yards, again without the benefit of cupcakes.

Again, if Florida had a defense, he wins the Heisman in 2020.

 

[GR8 2B]

The article is too long for one post, so I've broken it up into 3 parts. Enjoy.

Florida Football: Top 10 quarterback-receiver duos in Gators history

Florida football has a rich and illustrious history that spans decades, and over that time, there have been some phenomenal quarterback and wide receiver d...

hailfloridahail.com

Florida Football QB/REC Duos Honorable Mention: Jimmy Fisher and Wes Chandler​

• Jimmy Fisher: 1974 -1976 (2,248 career yards passing, 18 touchdowns)
• Wes Chandler: 1974 – 1977 (1,994 career yards receiving, 22 touchdowns)

Sandwiched between Steve Spurrier, John Reaves, and Chris Collinsworth under center was Jimmy Fisher in the mid-70s. The 1976 season was a ho-hum season for Florida football, going 8-4 with losses to Georgia, Kentucky, and Texas A&M.

But Fisher teamed up with Wes Chandler to form a duo that is worth considering for one of the top duos.

Fisher saw time in 1974 and 1975, but it was in 1976 that he had his breakout party. He threw for 1,511 yards in 1976, with 967 of those yards going to Chandler. No other receiver for Florida had over 300 yards in 1975 or 1976.

Fisher left after 1976, and Chandler couldn’t keep the chemistry going with Terry LeCount in 1977 and dropped to 25 catches for 490 yards.

Florida Football QB/Rec Duo No. 1: Rex Grossman and Jabar Gaffney​

• Rex Grossman: 2000 – 2002 (9,164 career yards passing, 77 touchdowns)
• Jabar Gaffney: 2000 – 2001 (2,375 career yards receiving, 27 touchdowns)

There is an alternate universe where Rex Grossman has a statue outside of The Swamp alongside Spurrier, Wuerffel, and Tebow. In 2001, Grossman finished second in the Heisman Trophy race to Eric Couch, and Gator fans are still mad about it to this day.

During that season, Grossman teamed up with Jabar Gaffney as his primary receiver. Gaffney has 1,191 yards receiving that year to go with 13 touchdowns. He led the SEC in touchdowns and was second in total receptions.

A lack of a defense against Tennessee is the only thing that stopped Florida from appearing in the BCS Championship game in 2001.

What puts this duo at the top of our list is that they were not just a one-year wonder for the Florida Gators. Gaffney only played two seasons in Gainesville but is also second on the all-time receiving list behind Alvarez because in 2000, he also caught 1,184 yards and 14 touchdowns.

While not all of those yards in 2000 came from Grossman, as he did split time with Jesse Palmer, there was no mistaking the power of the duo in 2000.

 

[B52G8rAC]

Ain't no doubt. Reeves to Alvarez, 1969.

 

[jdh5484]

Brantley to Brantley.

Classic.

A sign of things to come.

You know ... a real QB.

 

[BNAG8R]

The article is too long for one post, so I've broken it up into 3 parts. Enjoy.

You didn’t need 3 threads, and ox likely will delete the thread altogether if you committed a copyright infringement. The FBI has been notified. It’s only a matter of time now.

 

[jdh5484]

The article is too long for one post, so I've broken it up into 3 parts. Enjoy.

Florida Football: Top 10 quarterback-receiver duos in Gators history

Florida football has a rich and illustrious history that spans decades, and over that time, there have been some phenomenal quarterback and wide receiver d...

hailfloridahail.com

Florida Football QB/REC Duos Honorable Mention: Jimmy Fisher and Wes Chandler​

• Jimmy Fisher: 1974 -1976 (2,248 career yards passing, 18 touchdowns)
• Wes Chandler: 1974 – 1977 (1,994 career yards receiving, 22 touchdowns)

Sandwiched between Steve Spurrier, John Reaves, and Chris Collinsworth under center was Jimmy Fisher in the mid-70s. The 1976 season was a ho-hum season for Florida football, going 8-4 with losses to Georgia, Kentucky, and Texas A&M.

But Fisher teamed up with Wes Chandler to form a duo that is worth considering for one of the top duos.

Fisher saw time in 1974 and 1975, but it was in 1976 that he had his breakout party. He threw for 1,511 yards in 1976, with 967 of those yards going to Chandler. No other receiver for Florida had over 300 yards in 1975 or 1976.

Fisher left after 1976, and Chandler couldn’t keep the chemistry going with Terry LeCount in 1977 and dropped to 25 catches for 490 yards.

Florida Football QB/Rec Duo No. 1: Rex Grossman and Jabar Gaffney​

• Rex Grossman: 2000 – 2002 (9,164 career yards passing, 77 touchdowns)
• Jabar Gaffney: 2000 – 2001 (2,375 career yards receiving, 27 touchdowns)

There is an alternate universe where Rex Grossman has a statue outside of The Swamp alongside Spurrier, Wuerffel, and Tebow. In 2001, Grossman finished second in the Heisman Trophy race to Eric Couch, and Gator fans are still mad about it to this day.

During that season, Grossman teamed up with Jabar Gaffney as his primary receiver. Gaffney has 1,191 yards receiving that year to go with 13 touchdowns. He led the SEC in touchdowns and was second in total receptions.

A lack of a defense against Tennessee is the only thing that stopped Florida from appearing in the BCS Championship game in 2001.

What puts this duo at the top of our list is that they were not just a one-year wonder for the Florida Gators. Gaffney only played two seasons in Gainesville but is also second on the all-time receiving list behind Alvarez because in 2000, he also caught 1,184 yards and 14 touchdowns.

While not all of those yards in 2000 came from Grossman, as he did split time with Jesse Palmer, there was no mistaking the power of the duo in 2000.

Grossman to Gaffney was #1 in my book too.
Fuch UToothless.

 

[soflagator]

Grossman to Gaffney was #1 in my book too.
Fuch UToothless.

Palmer to Gafney wasn’t bad either. Especially if you needed a quick, extremely quick, touchdown.

 

[OurProgramIsBroken]

That receiving group in ‘96 brings back some memories. Ike, Reidel, Jacquez.. damn we were loaded

 

[stephenPE]

Spurrier to Charles Casey. Both All Americans so the first . Bell to Nattiel.

 

[fischerwood]

Spurrier to Charles Casey. Both All Americans so the first . Bell to Nattiel.

My 1st time seeing SOS Sept '64 Jackson, MS Steve to Charlie down the sidelines Gators 16; MSU 13...Gator for life...Go Gators...

 

[gardnerwebbgator]

Gross omission from the author. Top Ten for this play alone, to bend Dooley over and break it off inside him after all that Herschel and Lindsay Scott garbage.