Florida football: 5 most underrated players in Florida Gators history

Fred Taylor was an NFL star but he’s underrated in Florida football history.

One day, we will sit down and truly appreciate what an outstanding football player Fred Taylor was both in college at Florida and professionally with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots. Taylor is easily the most underrated running back of his generation in the NFL. While he gets considerably more love at his alma mater, it still doesn’t feel like enough.

Taylor won three SEC Championships while at Florida playing for Spurrier. As a junior, he won a national title with the Gators. During his senior season in Gainesville, Taylor achieved First-Team All-SEC status and Third-Team All-American honors with 1,292 rushing yards on 214 carries and 13 touchdowns. This propelled him into being the No. 9 overall pick by Jacksonville in 1998.

Taylor may have only made one Pro Bowl with the Jaguars, but he’s considered to be one of the four greatest players in franchise history with an outside shot of getting into the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day. It would have to be after left tackle Tony Boselli gets in, but how do you deny 11,695 yards and 66 touchdowns over a 13-year NFL career from Canton enshrinement?

During his four years at Florida from 1994 to 1997, Taylor amassed 3,075 rushing yards on 537 carries fo 31 rushing touchdowns. Taylor has been inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010 and has been inducted into the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame as well. Even with his son Kelvin Taylor playing for the Gators recently, Fred Taylor still feels very underrated.