GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It was never a question of if
for Danny Wuerffel, only when.
Still, when Wuerffel was passed over last year in his first
year of eligibility for the College Football Hall of Fame, some of Wuerffel’s
most ardent supporters questioned if the election committee knew much about,
well, college football.
Wuerffel not only won the 1996 Heisman Trophy, he led the
Gators to their first national championship that season. He won four
consecutive Southeastern Conference championships. His 114 career touchdown
passes still rank as the SEC record more than 16 years after Wuerffel walked
off the Superdome field that night in January 1997 a national champion.
And then there is the Wuerffel that is the son of a minister
who made good grades and stayed out of trouble and when his NFL career
concluded, devoted his post-football life to transforming inner cities through
his role as executive director of Desire Street Ministries.
The National Football Foundation’s selection criteria in
electing members to the College Football Hall of Fame include an edict that
states “while each nominee's football achievements in college are of prime
consideration, his post-football record as a citizen is also weighed. He must
have proven himself worthy as a citizen, carrying the ideals of football
forward into his relations with his community and fellow man.”
There is no way Wuerffel flunks that test. He remains one of
the most popular ambassadors for UF’s athletic department and the University of
Florida community for the way he lives his life.
Wuerffel remains as modest today as the teenager who arrived
in 1993 from Fort Walton Beach not sure what to expect as a quarterback in
Gators coach Steve Spurrier’s Fun N’ Gun offense.
He never expected to be in New York’s Times Square 20 years
later as one of the 14 newest inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame
on Tuesday. But there he was, joining fellow inductee Tedy Bruschi in
representing this year’s class.
The induction ceremony takes place in December at New York’s
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
Wuerffel recalled the moment Tuesday when he took his first
steps toward his latest honor. It started with a last-second touchdown pass to
win at Kentucky in the second game of the 1993 season.
“I could have never guessed what was going to unfold,’’
Wuerffel said. “Terry Dean had thrown four interceptions. I had just thrown my
third. Coach was looking up and down the sideline looking for anybody to put
in. I’m not sure why he let me go back in.”
Wuerffel hit Chris Doering for the game-winning score and
the rest is history. Wuerffel compiled a 45-6-1 record and played in two
national championship games in his Florida career from 1993-96.
When he received word Friday that he was going to be
inducted, officials asked Wuerffel to keep the news quiet until Tuesday’s
official announcement. He made it through the weekend but on Monday Wuerffel had
to give Spurrier a call to let him in on the secret.
Spurrier didn’t answer. Wuerffel called for a specific
reason and left a message for his former coach at Florida and later in the NFL
with the Washington Redskins.
“I wanted him to know beforehand and just took the
opportunity to really thank him for all that he’s done in my life and the way
his coaching has impacted much more than just football for me,’’ Wuerffel said.
“It was really nice to get that moment.”
He recalled a phrase Spurrier would constantly use at practice
to remind him of the need to always be ready to make adjustments during a game.
“You gotta be flexible. It might work now, it might not work
then. You gotta be flexible,’’ Wuerffel said in his best Spurrier
impersonation.
“Life throws a lot of punches and a lot of curveballs, and when
we get too attached to our plan or our agenda or expectation, life can be
really tough,’’ he added. “You would think that we can control it, but we can’t.
So just being flexible is the great lesson I learned from Coach Spurrier.”
Wuerffel’s phone blew up with messages once the news got out
Tuesday. He has so many people he wants to thank over the next several months
for the role they played in his success.
Wuerffel lives now in the Atlanta area, where Desire Street
Ministries relocated a few years after Hurricane Katrina swept through New
Orleans. He continues his faith-based work focused on revitalizing inner-city
neighborhoods.
Wuerffel has much more to be thankful for than his entry
into the hall of fame. He said Tuesday that his battle with Guillain-Barre
syndrome, a disorder of the nervous system that can cause paralysis and other
life-altering conditions, is going well.
“I’m probably 90 to 95 percent recovered and feeling really grateful
and thankful and able to engage with life and exercise on a much normal level,’’
he said. “It’s been a really hard two years in a lot of different ways but it’s
also been really good in other ways.”
Wuerffel, who turns 39 later this month, has his health
back, he has a Heisman Trophy and a national title, he is married with three
healthy kids and he has a bronze statue outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in his
likeness.
Wuerffel’s place in Gator lore has long been established. He
is now in the College Football Hall of Fame, joining his former coach among
college football’s all-time greats.
“It’s not something that years ago I ever thought of or put
on a list of things to accomplish,’’ he said. “But from where I’m sitting right
now it’s just an incredible honor. What we experienced those four years was
better than anything I could have dreamed of. Starting with that pass to Chris
and finishing with that win over Florida State, it couldn’t have been a better
bookended four years.”
Florida fans can certainly agree on that.
