Looking at last 25 top rushing seasons for Florida football
Florida’s football program earned the reputation of being a quarterback school after Steve Spurrier took the reins in 1990, which followed a decade that produced a plethora of NFL running backs — including Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith. While the 90s saw increased use of the air attack by many of the top teams, Spurrier’s Fun and Gun offense still sought a balance between the passing and running games as his squad continued to churn out grinders on the ground.
After the departure of the Head Ball Coach, the Gators underwent some philosophical changes on the sidelines that at best led to a pair of national championships and at worst led to losing seasons. Mixed up in there are some superior rushing campaigns by both running backs and quarterbacks along with some forgettable seasons as well.
Below is a look at the top rushers for Florida football over the past 25 seasons stretching all the way back into the Spurrier era and ending in the new Napier age. Included are their season stats, their career yardage and a short description of their achievement.
1998: Terry Jackson
Andy Lyons /Allsport
Season Yards: 587
Season Carries: 105
Yards per: 5.6
Career Yards: 1,794
This season was not even Jackson’s best as he finished his freshman campaign with 780 yards on 122 carries.
1999: Earnest Graham
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Season Yards: 654
Season Carries: 117
Yards per: 5.6
Career Yards: 3,085
This is the first of three seasons in which Graham led the Gators on the ground, with the next entry sandwiched in between them.
2000: Robert Gillespie
Andy Lyons /Allsport
Season Yards: 678
Season Carries: 125
Yards per: 5.4
Career Yards: 1,854
Gillespie beat out Graham for the most team yardage on the ground in 2000 by just two yards (Graham had four fewer carries).
2001: Earnest Graham
Matt Stroshane/Getty Images
Season Yards: 650
Season Carries: 125
Yards per: 5.2
Career Yards: 3,085
Graham led the team in rushing yards for the second time in his collegiate career, gaining 255 more yards than Gillespie on 21 more carries.
2002: Earnest Graham
Scott Halleran/ALLSPORT
Season Yards: 1,085
Season Carries: 240
Yards per: 4.5
Career Yards: 3,085
Graham finally cracked the thousand-yard mark in his final year in Gainesville carrying the heaviest workload of his career, nearly doubling the output of Ran Carthon, who 563 yards on 105 carries.
2003: Ran Carthon
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Season Yards: 595
Season Carries: 119
Yards per: 5.0
Career Yards: 1,353
After Graham left, Carthon took over the top spot in rushing yardage for the 2003 season but Ciatrick Fason was right on his tail with 583 yards on 84 carries.
2004: Ciatrick Fason
Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 1,267
Season Carries: 222
Yards per: 5.7
Career Yards: 1,877
Fason is the second player on this list to crack the thousand-yard mark and did so carrying a heavy load for the team, as quarterback Skyler Thornton was second on the team in rushing yards with 230 on 55 carries.
2005: Deshawn Wynn
Doug Benc/Getty Images
Season Yards: 621
Season Carries: 130
Yards per: 4.8
Career Yards: 2,077
Wynn was the leader for the Gators on the ground this season by far, leaving Markus Manson behind in second with 365 yards on 81 carries.
2006: Deshawn Wynn
Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports Copyright © 2006 Jason Parkhurst
Season Yards: 699
Season Carries: 143
Yards per: 4.9
Career Yards: 2,077
Wynn led the team for the second-straight season on the ground in 2006 but things were changing in the backfield with the introduction of Tim Tebow, who finished second with 469 yards on 89 carries.
2007: Tim Tebow
Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 895
Season Carries: 210
Yards per: 4.3
Career Yards: 2,947
This is the first of three-straight seasons that Florida’s Heisman-winning quarterback led the team in yardage on the ground, beating out Kestahn Moore who had 580 yards on 104 carries.
2008: Tim Tebow
Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 673
Season Carries: 176
Yards per: 3.8
Career Yards: 2,947
Tebow’s second-lowest output on the ground and worst average yardage came during his junior campaign, in which he edged Chris Rainey — who had 652 yards on just 84 attempts — for the team lead.
2009: Tim Tebow
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 910
Season Carries: 217
Yards per: 4.2
Career Yards: 2,947
Unfazed by his “down” year in 2008, Tebow gained the most yardage during his final season for his last hurrah, beating out Jeff Demps who notched 745 yards on 99 carries.
2010: Jeff Demps
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 551
Season Carries: 92
Yards per: 6.0
Career Yards: 2,470
The wealth was pretty evenly spread around the backfield this season, leading to reduced overall numbers for Demps despite leading the team; six players got more than 50 touches while seven players logged more than 100 yards total rushing.
2011: Chris Rainey
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 861
Season Carries: 171
Yards per: 5.0
Career Yards: 2,464
Rainey got the plurality of touches in 2011 beating out Demps — who managed 569 yards on 98 carries — for the primary player at the position.
2012: Mike Gillislee
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 1,152
Season Carries: 244
Yards per: 4.7
Career Yards: 2,072
Gillislee was a workhorse for the Gators in 2012 in the second-to-last season with a thousand-yard ball carrier, out-running quarterback Jeff Driskel for the team lead in yardage and carries.
2013: Mack Brown
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 543
Season Carries: 148
Yards per: 3.7
Career Yards: 805
Brown’s numbers were nothing to write home about for an underwhelming squad that went 4-8 that year; nonetheless, it was the best season he had with the Gators.
2014: Matt Jones
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 817
Season Carries: 166
Yards per: 4.9
Career Yards: 1,431
Jones’ yardage and carries beat out Kelvin Taylor for the team’s best, but Taylor would take things to the next level the following year.
2015: Kelvin Taylor
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 1,035
Season Carries: 259
Yards per: 4.0
Career Yards: 2,108
Taylor is the last Gator to break the thousand-yard barrier and did so by a narrow margin in 2015, with quarterback Treon Harris second on the team with 244 yards on 95 attempts.
2016: Jordan Scarlett
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 889
Season Carries: 179
Yards per: 5.0
Career Yards: 1,846
Scarlett’s best season came in 2016 when he doubled the output of freshman Lamical Perine to lead the Gators on the ground.
2017: Lamical Perine
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 562
Season Carries: 136
Yards per: 4.1
Career Yards: 2,485
Perine took the baton in 2017 and led the team in yardage, albeit by a narrow margin over Malik Davis’ 526 yards on 79 attempts, and would lead the Gators on the ground for three straight seasons.
2018: Lamical Perine
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 826
Season Carries: 134
Yards per: 6.2
Career Yards: 2,485
Perine’s output this season edged Jordan Scarlett — who had 776 yards on 131 carries — for the team lead and his best statistical season wearing the Orange and Blue.
2019: Lamical Perine
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 676
Season Carries: 132
Yards per: 5.1
Career Yards: 2,485
Perine regressed a little in his final year but still finished things off in style, earning the 2019 Orange Bowl MVP in his final collegiate game.
2020: Dameon Pierce
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Season Yards: 503
Season Carries: 106
Yards per: 4.7
Career Yards: 1,806
Most fans know that Pierce was criminally underused during his time in Gainesville the numbers bear out during the 2020 campaign, in which he beat out Malik Davis who notched 310 yards on 66 carries that year.
2021: Emory Jones
Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports
Season Yards: 759
Season Carries: 143
Yards per: 5.3
Career Yards (at Florida): 1,273
Jones is the second quarterback on this list to lead the team in rushing yards, out-running Pierce — who ran for 574 yards on 100 carries — by a decent margin.
2022: Montrell Johnson
Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun
Season Yards: 841
Season Carries: 155
Yards per: 5.4
Career Yards (at Florida): 841
Johnson followed head coach Billy Napier from Louisiana to Florida and did not disappoint as he led a three-headed ground attack that was among the best in the nation.
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