Gator Gone Wild : Florida’s Dean Flourishes in Spurrier System

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In 1993 he was booed, benched and bummed. His tires were slashed--and that was after a victory.

He argued in the huddle. He moped on the sideline. And although no official statistics were kept, it is believed that Florida quarterback Terry Dean led the team in a category no Gator aspires to: Player Most Likely to Cause Visor-Throwing Temper Tantrum by Coach Steve Spurrier .

“We really don’t monitor the visor throws,” said offensive tackle Anthony Ingrassia. “You just hope they’re not directed at you.”

Dean wasn’t so lucky last season. He had a 3.89 grade-point average and a 0.89-second patience level. If he made a mistake, he instantly went into mourning. Dean talked a good game, but he didn’t always play one.

“I kind of worried too much,” said the new and improved Dean shortly before Tuesday’s practice. “Fortunately, everything turned out all right.”

All right? Florida is undefeated and ranked No. 1 in both polls. The Gators rank second nationally in scoring with 50.8 points a game, fourth in total offense with a 505.6-yard average, and fifth in passing offense with a 306.6-yard average. Best of all, the number of Spurrier’s visor hurls is way down.

Meanwhile, Dean is taking advantage of Spurrier’s offensive system, an attack so refined that it yawns at the thought of throwing 40 passes a game. The Gators regularly use formations with five receivers, which is almost unheard of outside the pros. It is an attack without a conscience and Dean, a senior, is finally flourishing in it.

Against New Mexico State in the season opener, Dean passed for seven touchdowns--in 1 1/2 quarters. He passed for four more against Kentucky, prompting Wildcat Coach Bill Curry and defensive coordinator Mike Archer to wonder what exactly had gotten into Dean.

A season earlier against Kentucky, Dean had thrown four interceptions and was jerked from the starting lineup.

“You know what it is,” said Archer, “I think he’s trying to show everybody that that wasn’t him last year. He’s playing like he’s trying to prove everybody wrong.”

If so, Dean is doing a convincing job of it. He passed for 303 yards and two touchdowns against Tennessee and four scores against Mississippi. He stumbled slightly against Louisiana State last Saturday, but unlike last season, didn’t show up Sunday morning wearing black.

There’s a reason for that. No longer is Danny Wuerffel, the 1993 Southeastern Conference freshman of the year, poised over Dean’s shoulder. Dean won the job fair and square during spring practice and Spurrier made a commitment: Barring disaster or injury, Dean would remain the starter.

“The quarterback controversy is over,” said wide receiver Aubrey Hill, who has marveled at Dean’s sudden maturity.

And this from guard Donnie Young: “He had rough going last year. He had a lot of head games played on him.”

Not anymore. In 1993, Gator huddles occasionally featured screaming matches and near fights. In 1994, the atmosphere is so relaxed that Florida offensive linemen take turns quoting lines from movies they saw. “Tombstone” and “The Program” are the favorites.

And no longer do the Gator linemen have to tell the previously hyper Dean to calm down on the field. Dean, who has a Division I-A-leading 19 touchdown passes, has become a picture of stability and a fence mender too. Unsacked after the first three games, Dean thanked his linemen by taking them out to dinner.

“But he got cheap on us,” said Ingrassia of the barbecue dinner. “He should have taken us to (a steak house).”

Dean got sacked the next game.

There are other noticeable differences. In 1993, the thought of Dean with a Heisman Trophy was borderline comical--unless, of course, he was posing with the one won by Spurrier in 1966. In 1994, Dean and the Heisman can be mentioned in the same sentence and nobody laughs.

And in 1993, Dean sulked and fumed each of the six times he wasn’t the Gator starter. This summer, however, he got married and suddenly sulking wasn’t allowed.

“With Robin, if I have a bad day with football--practice, a bad game--she doesn’t care,” said Dean, a Raider draft questionnaire in his hand. “I’ll just get home and she makes me wash the dishes.”

Too bad the dish-wash rule wasn’t in effect last Oct. 16. That’s when Dean found himself on the bench for the fourth consecutive game, this time against Auburn, his childhood and teen-age favorite.

Dean grew up in Alabama. His father went to Auburn. So did three uncles, an aunt and a cousin.

“Up until my senior year (in high school), that’s about the only school I thought about,” he said. “I probably still have Auburn pennants up in my room at home.”

Auburn offered the much-recruited Dean a scholarship, but there was something about then-Coach Pat Dye’s run-oriented offense and the possibility of NCAA sanctions that scared him. Instead, he signed with Florida, but it wasn’t easy.

Even after making an oral commitment to the Gators and canceling his remaining official visits, Dye and then-offensive coordinator Pat Sullivan asked if they could take him out to dinner and make a last-ditch pitch. Dean said he wasn’t going to change his mind, but at his dad’s request, he accepted the dinner invitation.

Dye and Sullivan did what they could. They promised to open up the offense, relatively speaking, and pleaded with Dean to reconsider.

Dean thought about it, but not for long. If Sullivan, the former Auburn quarterback who won the Heisman Trophy in 1971, had been head coach, Dean said he probably would have signed with the Tigers. Instead, it was run-happy Dye. And that was that.

In 1991, Dean’s freshman season, he wasn’t in uniform for the Auburn game because of tonsillitis. He didn’t play against the Tigers in 1992 and was relegated to backup status again last year.

“It bothered me a lot,” said Dean, whose grandmother died the week of last season’s Auburn game. “That was probably the low point of everything. I wanted to play that game so bad.”

At last he gets his chance. The Gators face sixth-ranked and undefeated Auburn on Saturday at Florida Field. It marks Florida’s first game this season against an opponent with a winning record.

“Growing up in Alabama and being an Auburn fan my whole life, to finally get a chance to play these guys is like a dream come true,” Dean said.

A victory over Auburn would strengthen the Gators’ hold on No. 1 and improve the likelihood of a Sugar Bowl appearance and a possible national championship. That’s all Dean cares about. The Heisman? He never mentions it.

“No, not at all,” said wide receiver Chris Doering. “I’ve never heard him say a word about it.”

That makes sense. Dean has too many other things to do these days--like making up for lost time. And on occasion, doing the dishes.

Terry Dean’s Passing Statistics

Game-by-game passing statistics of Florida quarterback Terry Dean, who has completed 62.2% of his passes in leading the Gators to a 5-0 record and No. 1 ranking:

Opp Att Com Yds Int TD New Mex. St. 30 20 271 0 7 Kentucky 22 15 201 0 4 Tennessee 26 18 303 1 2 Mississippi 32 19 292 3 4 Louisiana St. 38 20 217 1 2 Totals 148 92 1,284 5 19