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player ready...Remember Rex Grossman?
Widely viewed as the preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, he seemed to drop off the radar screen with a disastrous performance Sept. 7 against top-ranked Miami. Grossman did not throw a touchdown pass and had an interception returned for a touchdown in the Gators’ 41-16 loss.
After three games he had thrown more interceptions (four) than touchdown passes (three).
But Grossman turned his season around when he led the Gators into Knoxville and defeated then-No. 4 Tennessee 30-13 last weekend.
Grossman threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns. His biggest contribution came late in the first half, when he escaped heavy pressure and scrambled for 18 yards and a first down. Two plays later, Grossman got away from the rush again and heaved a 52-yard strike to Taylor Jacobs at the Tennessee 2.
“I like moving around and making a play here and there, playing a little back-yard football, making something happen,” said Grossman, a junior from Bloomington, Ind. “I’m not going to take it down the field for very long, but I’m pretty shifty in the pocket. As a football player you grow up playing back-yard football, and sometimes you have to make something out of nothing.”
It remains to be seen whether Grossman’s big day has revived his Heisman hopes. Coach Ron Zook said Grossman ought to be at the top of the watch lists.
“I don’t know how anybody can criticize Rex Grossman,” he said. “Here’s a guy who was second in the Heisman Trophy balloting in the closest voting in history. Here’s a guy who elected to stay in college, which we all want guys to do. He was a great quarterback last year and he’s a great quarterback this year.”