Florida's Danny Wuerffel was benched in a 1993 meeting against Georgia. File Photo

Wuerffel not waffling in the rain
Since 1993 flop, Florida star has excelled in foul weather
By Matt Hayes, Morris News Service

    GAINESVILLE - The rain poured, and puddles and brown mud replaced what used to be the green grass at the Gator Bowl.
    Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel hadn't thrown a pass and knew things would be different that miserable day three years ago, the last time the Gators played Georgia in Jacksonville.
    He walked on the field, picked up a football and watched it wobble as it flew from his hand.
    "It was pretty bad," Wuerffel said. "The balls were about 15 pounds by the time you threw one pass. It was obviously going to be a different game."
    For Wuerffel, it may have been career defining.
    Only a redshirt freshman, that game was the first - and only - time he has been benched as quarterback at Florida. He had trouble throwing, the ball slipped, and he slid - right down the depth chart and into a two-year quarterback controversy with Terry Dean.
    Wuerffel completed only 3-of-9 passes that day, a long throw from what has become one of the most productive careers in NCAA history. A career low point may also have been a turning point.
    "He could've folded up in a shell after that," former Florida wideout and current graduate assistant Aubrey Hill said. "He showed a lot of character after that. A lot of guys in the same situation would've pouted or stopped working hard. That's not Danny. He has the mentality of no matter what happens, you come back harder the next time."
    Wuerffel never got untracked during the game, throwing an interception early and getting yanked in the middle of the second quarter. Dean went on to lead Florida to its fourth consecutive victory in the series and regain the starting job he had lost in the third week of the season.
    At the time three years ago, Florida coach Steve Spurrier said he could see Wuerffel was going to have problems in the weather because of his pregame warmups and because Wuerffel had concerns over throwing a wet ball.
    It didn't take long to play out.
    "A lot of people really forgot that Danny Wuerffel got benched in that game," Spurrier said. "Danny was struggling. He seemed not to be able to hold onto the wet ball very well in pregame warmups, and it just hit me that Terry Dean deserved a chance to play at that time.
    "I think it Ãbenching´ helped him ÃWuerffel´. It didn't bother him. He was a little disappointed, but he was ready when his number was called."
    Which in Florida's quarterback carousel, was often. From that game until the middle of last season, Wuerffel was seen as someone who had trouble throwing a wet and heavy ball.
    His father, Jon, used to call him and tell him to dunk a football in a pail of water and throw it - over and over.
    "Obviously it was tough when you haven't played and you know you can be successful - and then to have to sit back and watch someone else do it," Wuerffel said. "You can learn more in situations like that than if everything is going good for you."
    The perception - fair or not - of Wuerffel's wet-ball problems ended last year against Auburn, when he had one of his best games in what was then Florida's biggest Southeastern Conference game in three years. In fact, in three games last season in bad weather (against Auburn, South Carolina and Florida State), Wuerffel completed 64-of-98 passes for 1,127 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also threw four touchdown passes this season in the rain against Tennessee.
    The wet ball has now become another interesting tale in a career full of stories for Danny Wuerffel.
    "When the ball's wet, sometimes it goes straight and sometimes it doesn't," Wuerffel said. "In situations like that Ãthe 1993 Florida-Georgia game´, you can learn more about yourself and push yourself to work harder. It's the trials and tribulations that help you grow and mature."

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