Despite some solid college careers, not every Gator goes on to be drafted
The NFL Draft is this weekend, and it is expected to be a subdued day for Florida Football. Beyond Ricky Pearsall and Kingsley Eguakun, it is a long shot for any other Gators to hear their name called.
But as history as shown, just because one is drafted high doesn’t automatically mean one is going to have a long NFL career. Likewise, it is possible to go on to a notable career even if one doesn’t get drafted.
The followed are five players in Florida history who didn’t get drafted and are notable either because of the career they had at Florida or because of the career they would go on to have in the NFL.
Florida Football: Pick Of Destiny
Shane Matthews
While QBs like Tim Tebow, Danny Wuerffel, and Steve Spurrier have statues outside of The Swamp and QBs like Rex Grossman and Kyle Trask should arguably have one too, one could argue that Shane Matthews is as important to the timeline of Gator lore as any of them
Still picking themselves up from the sanctions of the 1980, Matthews was the chosen one for Spurrier when he took over as head coach in 1990. In 1991, the Gators won 10 games, the first time in program history Florida had hit double digit wins.
By the time it was over in Gainesville, Matthews had 9,287 yards passing and 74 touchdowns over three seasons under center. But despite being in the top five nationally for passing yards in 1991 and 1992, Matthews went undrafted in the 1993 NFL Draft.
The NFL still worked out for Matthews, who went on to stay in the league from 1993 until 2006, and finished with 4,756 yards passing and 31 career touchdowns
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