#9 Michael Shane Matthews of Cleveland, Ohio and Pascagoula, Mississippi, had the distinct honor of being Gator savior-- Steve Spurrier‘s first starting quarterback. On the right arm of Shane, Darth Visor rebuilt the Gator football program. He quarterbacked the team to an SEC-best 9-2 record, but the Gators were not eligible for the SEC championship due to NCAA and school sanctions. In the following year, he led the team to a 10-2 season, 7-0 SEC, and the Gators’ first official SEC Championship. He was first-team All-SEC in ’90, ’91, and ’92. He finished hiscollege career 722/1,202 attempts for 9,287 yards and 74 touchdowns, was a team captain and team MVP. He led the SEC in passing for three consecutive years (1990–1992), and finished with a career efficiency rating of 137.6. When he left UF, Matthews topped the Gator charts in rating, completions, attempts, yards, and touchdowns. He was inducted as a Gator Great into the University of Florida Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2002.
