Florida football: 5 most underrated players in Florida Gators history

The five most underrated Florida football players in Gators history.

Florida football has won too much to have underrated players, right?

Wrong. Florida is just like every other blue-blood program in the Power 5. While greatness exists on the gridiron almost all the time, a few players never quite get the shine they probably should have while they were in school. It may have something to do with playing in a loaded position group or playing for the team during a down cycle for the program. Either way, they’re underrated.

To date, Florida has won three national titles. The Gators didn’t win their first SEC Championship they didn’t have to vacate as a football program until 1991, but ever since Steve Spurrier arrived back on the Gainesville campus in 1990, Florida has been a force to be reckoned with in the SEC. While Florida has had its down periods since 2001, the Gators are never down for that long.

So what we’re going to do today is look at five players who starred for the Gators but have over time become a bit underrated in the greater scheme of things. They’re not College Football Hall of Famers and may never be anything close to Pro Football Hall of Famers in most cases, but these five Gator greats deserve more love than what they’ve gotten in recent years.

Florida football has had some incredible players over the years but these five former Florida Gators are totally underrated and deserve more love.

Underrated Florida football players in Florida Gators history

Ahmad Black played in the defensive backfield at Florida under Urban Meyer from 2007 to 2010. The Lakeland, Florida native came to Gainesville the season after the 2006 National Championship. He played in seven games as a freshman at cornerback before moving full-time to the position he was best known for playing at strong safety for the rest of his college career.

As a sophomore in 2008, Black was part of the SEC Championship team that went on to win Meyer’s second national title in three years at Florida. While that team was all about Tim Tebow, Black played an integral role in the secondary, one he’d really hone in on in the years to come at Florida.

As a senior in 2010, Black was named First-Team All-SEC and a First-Team All-American. Though Florida didn’t reach the SEC Championship game that season, Black got better every year as a player while at Florida. 2010 would also mark the last year Meyer coached at Florida. He retired after the 2010 campaign before resurfacing with the Ohio State Buckeyes beginning in 2012.

Black had 244 total tackles in 48 career games at Florida. 13 of them went for a loss of yardage. He also had 13 interceptions for 362 yards and three trips to pay dirt in his college career. Black would be a fifth-round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2011 NFL Draft where he spent three professional seasons in an NFC South defensive backfield.