When it comes to UF running backs, THE DUDE is Emmitt Smith

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:

“The Dude abides.  I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners.” – The Stranger, talking about The Dude, Jeff Lebowski, also known as His Dudeness, Duder or El Duderino in “The Big Lebowski”

After taking a couple of days off to deal personally with the death of a dear friend, it’s back to the grind. When it comes to Florida football in general, there is only one with the title “THE DUDE” and that is Steven Orr Spurrier for his exploits both as a Heisman Trophy quarterback and national championship coach at UF. There are two El Duderinos – Gene Ellenson and Urban Meyer.

However, when we go position-by-position, we have a Dude and nine other El Duderinos. Today, the Florida running backs.

THE DUDE

1. Emmitt Smith: Sometimes you have to wonder what Emmitt Smith could have done in Steve Spurrier’s offense. It’s hard to argue that he made the right decision by going into the NFL Draft after the 1989 season because he was taken by the Dallas Cowboys. In the NFL he won three Super Bowl rings and left as the all-time leading rusher in league history. The Spurrier offense would have had a passing game which means Emmitt could have run free as a banshee through defenses, but that’s something we’ll never know except in our wildest dreams. So all we have to go by is what he did in three years at UF where he carried 700 times for 3,928 yards and 36 touchdowns while catching 56 passes for 463 yards and one more TD. As a junior in 1989, the passing game disintegrated for all practical purposes with the season-ending injuries to Kyle Morris and Stacey Simmons, after which it was Emmitt left, Emmitt right and Emmitt up the middle. Everybody knew he was going to get the football but he still gained 1,599 yards and scored 14 TDs. Emmitt also had to endure “The Amedee-ville Horror,” the offense concocted by coordinator Lynn Amedee, who was convinced Willie McClendon was the best running back on the team. That was the only one of Emmitt’s three seasons at UF that he didn’t gain at least 1,000 yards. When he signed with Florida, Max Emfinger, considered the nation’s top recruiting analyst wrote, “Emmitt Smith is a lugger, not a runner. He’s not fast. He can’t get around the corner. When he falls flat on his face, remember where you heard it first.” Emmitt did pretty well for a lugger, don’t you think? Has anyone taken Max Emfinger seriously since?

The El Duderinos

2. Errict Rhett: Georgia fans tend to remember the time out call by Anthone Lott that preceded what Poodle fans thought was the game-winning touchdown pass from Eric Zeier to Jerry Jerman. Poodle fans tend to forget they had two more cracks at the end zone and didn’t make it as the Gators took a 32-29 win. What should be remembered is Errict Rhett, who turned the Gator Bowl quagmire into his personal playtime in the mud. Rhett was splashing in the puddles pre-game then during the game carried 41 times for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Rhett was first team All-SEC in 1991 and 1993, first team All-America in 1993. During his career, he carried 873 times for a school-record 4,163 yards and 34 touchdowns. He also caught 153 passes for 1,230 yards and two touchdowns. You can probably count on one hand the number of times he didn’t get the first down on third-and-2 or fourth-and-1.

3. Larry Dupree: Don’t let the numbers fool you (405 carries, 1,725 yards, 15 TDs). This was a different era of football. Put him in a modern offense and he would have set records. Ask those who played with and against him and they will tell you this guy was a stud. Some even say he’s the best they ever played against. He played the Georgia game in 1963 the day after his child was stillborn. His father-in-law FHP Eldridge Beach drove him from Shands to the Gator Bowl. He destroyed Georgia that day in what teammates say is the gutsiest performance they ever saw.

4. Larry Smith: He’s remembered for pulling up his pants that were sliding off while finishing a 94-yard touchdown run in the Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech in 1966. On campus he’s remembered for showing up at the intramural track meet and running a 9.8 100-yard dash in his Converse sneakers. He made All-SEC three years and first team All-America in 1968. During his career at UF, Smith played in 28 games, carrying 518 times for 2,186 yards and 24 touchdowns. He caught 50 passes for 607 yards. This was in an era when a wide open offense threw the ball 20 times per game and there was no play clock in between snaps.

5. Neal Anderson: He could make you miss or run over you. From tiny Graceville, Florida he became one of the nation's most consistent running backs. He ran inside or outside, caught passes out of the backfield and had no problems sticking his hat in a blitzing linebacker's chest. He was second team All-SEC in 1983-84, first team All-SEC in 1985, a year he should have been a first team All-American when he gained 1,034 yards on the ground and caught 25 passes for 349 yards out of the backfield. During his Florida career, Neal ran for 3,234 yards and 30 touchdowns while catching 46 passes for 525 yards and two more. This is how special this guy was. A first round pick of the Chicago Bears in the 1986 NFL Draft, Neal endowed an athletic scholarship at the University of Florida in his mother's name. There have been a lot of Gators who went on to fame and fortune in the pros. Not too many have endowed scholarships.

6. Fred Taylor: There was no secret to what Steve Spurrier had up his sleeve in the Citrus Bowl following the 1997 season. It was line up, give the ball to Fred Taylor and let him destroy Penn State, which is exactly what he did – 43 carried for 234 yards – as the Gators went smash mouth against the Nittany Lions for a 21-6 win. Fred was All-SEC in 1997 and should have been first team All-America (he was third team). That was Fred’s last game as a Gator. In the previous game he ran for 162 yards and three touchdowns as the Gators beat No. 1 Florida State, 32-29, a game that cost the Seminoles a chance to play Nebraska for the national championship. In 1997, Fred bounced back from two injury-filled seasons to run for 1,292 yards and 13 touchdowns while catching 24 passes for 238. His career numbers 537-3,075 rushing, 31 touchdowns; 67 catches for 717 yards.

7. John L. Williams: At Palatka, he was the dominant player on both sides of the football as the Panthers won the state title his senior year in 1981. In 1982 at Florida, the crowded backfield was James Jones, Neal Anderson, Lorenzo Hampton and John L., all of them destined to be first rounders in future NFL drafts. John L. put up serious numbers at Florida – 468 carries for 2,409 yards and 14 touchdowns; 92 catches for 863 yards and seven touchdowns – that would have been off the charts except he was always in a crowded backfield. He was second team All-SEC two years, should have been first team both times.

8. James Jones: He could run, he could catch (see the 1-hander against Miami in 1982 that beat the Hurricanes) and he was an edge rushers nightmare because he hit them and hurt them while protecting the UF quarterback. He ran for 2,018 yards (17 touchdowns) and caught 68 passes for 593 yards and five more TDs. He made All-SEC twice and was selected one of the 100 greatest high school football players in Florida history from his days at Blanche Ely in Pompano.

9. Earnest Graham: As a junior in 2001, Florida’s only two losses were the games Earnest Graham missed due to injury. If he had played against Auburn and Tennessee, odds are the Gators would have played Miami for the national championship. In 2002, Ron Zook’s first season as the UF head coach, everybody knew he was going to get the ball but he still gained 1,085 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. Graham’s career numbers: 609-3,085 and 33 rushing touchdowns; 59 catches for 402 yards.

10. Tony Green: Running out of Doug Dickey’s wishbone, Tony Green was always a threat to go the distance when he got his shoulders turned to the line of scrimmage after taking an option pitch. You have to wonder what he might have done in an offense in which he was the featured back but in the wishbone carries were shared. Still, Tony gained 2,590 yards on 448 carries (5.8 per carry) and scored 15 touchdowns. He caught 31 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns. He rarely returned kicks, which is strange since he became a Pro Bowl returner in the National Football League.

Jac Caglianone will hear his name early when MLB Drafts starting Sunday (Photo by Chris Spears)

Gators in Baseball America’s final pre-MLB Draft 500 best prospects

With the start of the Major League Baseball Draft just three days away (July 14-16), there is a rush to get the final list of best prospects as well as mock drafts in place. Here are the Gators (both 2024 and signees) listed in Baseball America’s final list of the 500 best prospects.

5. Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP: Fifth best prospect? Oh please.

27. Kellon Lindsey, SS (Wauchula, FL Hardee County): Fastest high school kid in the draft, he’s 99 percent gone.

64. Colby Shelton SS/3B: If he’s the 64th player drafted, figure he’s a goner but he has two years of leverage so he can say no and come back.

132. Brendan Lawson SS/3B (Toronto, Canada/Lexington, SC P27 Academy): Right now it seems he’s leaning to UF. If he comes to UF he’s draft-eligible after his sophomore year.

159. Joshua Whritenour, RHP (Hudson, FL/Tampa, FL A3 Academy): There are reports that he wants a lot of money to sign and therefore probably will be a Gator.

171. Jackson Barberi, RHP (Snellville, GA Brookwood): Throws serious heat and he isn’t even 18 years old yet. It will have to be the right team and the right amount of money for him to sign, otherwise it’s UF.

212. Brandon Neely, RHP: He could come back but why? The way he pitched the last month of the season makes him a hot property for teams looking for the closer of the future.

229. Luke Heyman, C: Two years of leverage so it will take an outstanding offer and the right team for him to sign. Figure he’s back.

262. Pierce Coppola, LHP: Lefties, who are 6-8, 255 and heat it up to 96-97 will always be in demand, but he sat two years, needs the experience and he’s 99 percent certain to come back.

278. Schuyler Sandford, RHP (St. Augustine, FL/Orange Park, FL St. John’s Country Day): He had Tommy John surgery. He will be at UF, taking a redshirt his freshman year.

329. McCall Biemiller, LHP (Tampa, FL Jesuit): Lefty with a wicked curve and a fast ball that occasionally hits mid-90s. Seems 100 percent committed to being at UF. 359: Ty Evans, OF: He could come back, but don’t count on it unless the team that drafts him lowballs him. Great power potential.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The saga of the Atlantic Coast Conference continues and the news is not good for Florida State and Clemson, which are trying to maneuver their way out of the league. Wednesday, a North Carolina judge denied Clemson’s motion to have the ACC’s countersuit moved out of Mecklenburg County, NC. Judge Louis Bledsoe wrote in his decision, “The only court that has jurisdiction over FSU, Clemson and the ACC – and thus, the only court that can assure a consistent, uniform interpretation of the Grant of Rights Agreements and the ACC’s Constitution and Bylaws, the determinations at the core of the Pending actions – is a North Carolina court.”

FSU tried to do an end run on the ACC back in March and Bledsoe ruled against the Seminoles. Wednesday he made it clear that FSU and Clemson will have to answer the ACC’s counter-suit in North Carolina. There are four cases now involving FSU, Clemson and the ACC, one in Leon County, another in Pickens County, SC, and the two in Mecklenburg County.

The ACC has dug in its heels and has vowed scorched earth to keep FSU and Clemson from bolting. What this means is any move FSU and Clemson make will be met with litigation that is going to take years to resolve. And, while FSU and Clemson get down on their knees at night, praying that either the Southeastern Conference or Big Ten will invite them to join, these will be prayers that will require a miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead proportions to be answered. As long as there is litigation, FSU and Clemson will languish in the Almost Competitive Conference.

I’m reminded of a book by the late, great Lewis Grizzard: “When My Love Returns from the Ladies Room, Will I Be Too Old to Care.” When the court room drama is over for FSU and Clemson, will we be too old to care?