It’s a sad time in college football whenever a prominent coach retires, but it’s a much sadder time when a prominent Gator coach retires. And Spurrier was more than just a prominent Gator coach. He was a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback in 1966, and the coach that guided Florida to its first national championship and first six SEC Championships in school history.
So in honor of his retirement, I figured it was time to dig up all his noteworthy quotes and rank the top ten. Here goes, in reverse order:
10) (On a fire at Auburn that destroyed 20 books in the 1990’s) “The real tragedy was that 15 of them hadn’t been colored in yet.
9) (On playing Georgia in October in 2012) “I donāt know. I sort of always liked playing Georgia that second game of the season because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended.ā
8) (On Jadeveon Clowney’s speeding ticket in 2013) āI didnāt know Jadeveonās car that could go that fast. He doesnāt have a pretty car like those FSU guys used to drive.ā
7) (At SEC Media Days in 2015) āThis will be the 14th time Iāve coached in Neyland Stadium. Iāve coached there more than some of their head coaches.ā (Ironically, Spurrier won’t make that 14th trip to Neyland.)
6) (On the 52-17 win over Georgia in Athens, GA in 1995) “I wanted to be the first to ever hang half a hundred on Georgia Between the Hedges because I heard nobody had ever done that before.”
5) (On Georgia’s recruiting) “Why is it that during recruiting season they sign all the great players, but when it comes time to play the game, we have all the great players? I don’t understand that. What happens to them?”
4) (On FSU’s Foot Locker spree in 1996) “You know what FSU stands for, don’t you? Free Shoes University.”
3) (On beating Tennessee five straight times from 1993-1997, and regularly sending them to the Citrus Bowl) “You can’t spell Citrus without the UT.”
2) (On FSU’s late hits on Danny Wuerffel in 1996) “Danny’s like a New Testament person. He gets slapped up side the face, and turns the other cheek and says, ‘Lord, forgive them for they know not what they’re doing.’ I’m probably more of an Old Testament guy. You spear our guy in the earhole, we’re supposed to spear you in the earhole. That’s kind of where we’re a little different.”
And the number one quote of all time from Steve Spurrier is…
1) (On Peyton Manning returning to Tennessee for his senior season in 1997) “I know why Peyton came back for his senior year. He wanted to be a three time Citrus Bowl MVP.”
What do you think his top quotes are? Sound off in the comments section and let your voice be heard.
