58 Days to Gator Football: Larry Libertore

[Escambia94]

Little Larry Libertore played quarterback and defensive back for Ray Graves' Florida Gators from 1960 to 1962. Even at 135 pounds, Libertore was a fearless runner, solid passer (especially for his size) and master of the option offense. In two years as the starting QB, he amassed 1,511 yards of total offense, which is sixth in Gator history even 50 years later. In 1960 he led the school to its then-record nine wins with a squad of players consistently outmatched by All SEC and All American competition. In his junior year, his final year at QB before switching to DB, he was named the MVP of the 1960 Gator Bowl (Florida Gators 13, Baylor Bears 12). Even that Gator Bowl, the Gators were a longshot to keep even with the pro-style, aerial attack of the #12 Baylor Bears that set many longstanding offensive records against this Gator team. Only a few months earlier, the crafty play by Libertore sealed an 18-17 win over top-five ranked Georgia Tech that came on an option play for the two-point conversion victory instead of the tie. Larry finished his career 46/122, 715 yards and 4 TD passing, 258 attempts, 777 yards and 3 TD rushing, 22 attempts for 181 yards in punt returns, and 1 interception.

 

[Leakfan12]

I'm sorry but I see can't see why you put this guy and Shannon over Chris Leak (and some players had put up bigger numbers).

 

[Escambia94]

I'm sorry but I see can't see why you put this guy and Shannon over Chris Leak (and some players had put up bigger numbers).

SUMMARY: The University of Florida has been blessed with a lot of great football players over its nearly 100 years.

It comes down to accolades, efficiency at the position, and comparison against history. We all remember how great Chris Leak was, because he was here within 10 years from now. When ranking the greatest Gators, we have to compare the Chris Leaks of the world to nearly a century of good players. It would not be a fair comparison to directly compare Chris Leak to Tom Shannon, because the game was different. In Leak's era, a QB was expected to throw for 60% completion for 250 yards a game. In Shannon's era, a QB rarely went over 50% completion for 80 yards a game. If you look at my thread [here], Chris is the 3rd-best passer. However, there is more to the QB position than passing. To rank Chris higher than Tom Shannon and Larry Libertore takes away the accomplishments of those QBs in different era, and takes away the accomplishments of Chris Leak's peers that managed to be All American, All SEC, or even Fergie Ferguson award winners. Note that he did not even win a Fergie Ferguson, which means his coaches and players did not think he was a leader.

The ranking system also has to account for players that are not QBs, RBs, or WRs, so it has to compare each player against peers in the same position. Other than in passing, Chris Leak could not compare to his peers, much less the Gators ranked ahead of him who are eligible for the Ring of Honor (#1-6), eligible for the Gator Hall of Fame (#1-61), First Team All American (#1-69), or All SEC (#1-88). Chris Leak barely qualifies for his #71 ranking. I had to "cheat" and consider the Rival's All Freshman team as being equal to the All SEC team. That is quite a stretch, but it was the only way to rank him amongst the top 88.