84 Days to Florida Gator Football!

[Escambia94]

Benjamin Lashaun Troupe played tight end for Steve Spurrier and Ron Zook from 2000 to 2003, and is considered one of the most athletic tight ends to wear a Gator jersey. Troupe led the team in receptions in 2003. He finished his college career with sixty-four receptions for 958 yards (14.9 yards per catch, #57 in school history) and seven touchdowns.As a senior team captain in 2003, Troupe was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection and received first-team All-American honors from ESPN, Rivals.com and Sports Illustrated.He was also one of the three finalists for the John Mackey Award, recognizing the nation’s best college tight end in 2003. Ben was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in round 2 (pick #40) of the 2004 NFL Draft.

 

[DRU2012]

Benjamin Lashaun Troupe played tight end for Steve Spurrier and Ron Zook from 2000 to 2003, and is considered one of the most athletic tight ends to wear a Gator jersey. Troupe led the team in receptions in 2003. He finished his college career with sixty-four receptions for 958 yards (14.9 yards per catch, #57 in school history) and seven touchdowns.As a senior team captain in 2003, Troupe was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection and received first-team All-American honors from ESPN, Rivals.com and Sports Illustrated.He was also one of the three finalists for the John Mackey Award, recognizing the nation’s best college tight end in 2003. Ben was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in round 2 (pick #40) of the 2004 NFL Draft.

I'd actually forgotten about Troupe. One of the things I really appreciate about these various summer runs through Gator lore (by now more or less "annual"--we'll not dwell on last year's "sorta bail out" on the tradition: we were ALL gettin' pretty worn down by that point in the hard-to-be-optimistic slide of the "late-Muschamp" era) is exactly this sort of rediscovery/re-evaluation.
(As for the original general rationale for all this, counting down towards the start of the season and passing these "dog days" with mounting tension and excitement, the aforementioned College World Series is helping too: LOVED that Miami game. 15-3, Gators, more runs scored on the Hurricanes in a single inning than ever before in their history (11 in the 4th)...Beat them in every way, from the mound and up'n'down the line-up. Neat, powerful display of whole team running smoothly and as a unit.)

 

[Escambia94]

I do these trips through time, because nobody else does. There are other countdowns that focus on current or recent players. I use players going back as far as the 1920s. I bet only a few Gators can name the first Gator to be named an All-American (Dale Van Sickel, 1928). The first Gator in the College Football Hall of Fame? Also Dale Van Sickel. First black quarterback for the Gators? Don Gaffney (he is the father, uncle, and godfather for several other Gators in history). First black Gator football player? Willie Jackson (he is also the father or uncle for several other Gators on the top 100 list).

 

[Escambia94]

The baseball game was great, because Miami fans were getting cocky in the first three innings as Florida struggled. When the Gators erupted, it was beautiful!