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The QB says he's relaxed without presence of coach Spurrier, rival Brock Berlin.
By ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 22, 2002
GAINESVILLE -- In a span of six months, Rex Grossman won the starting job as Florida quarterback, had a phenomenal season that included passing for almost 4,000 yards, then had everything he had worked for almost fall apart.
The day after he completed his first full season as starter, his coach, Steve Spurrier, abruptly resigned after 12 seasons. The ensuing search included two big-name candidates who eventually bowed out.
When the Gators finally decided on Ron Zook, Grossman had to decide if his future was with a man with no college head coaching experience or the NFL.
He chose the Gators.
In spite of it all -- or perhaps because of it -- Grossman is a different person than he was at this time last season.
The change is as much about who is not in Gainesville now as who is: notably, former quarterback Brock Berlin.
From the moment Berlin decided to transfer to Miami in January, everything changed for Grossman.
"I can motivate myself pretty well; I don't need someone pushing me to get me going or anything like that," said Grossman, a junior from Bloomington, Ind., who threw for 3,896 yards and 34 touchdowns last season. "So I like this situation (without Berlin) much more. I feel much more confident, and I can worry about the offense and just playing."
Make no mistake, Grossman, 22, loves competition. But battling Berlin for the starting job last spring and fall was tiring, sometimes stressful. Even after winning the job, Grossman knew that with Berlin at his heels and Spurrier in charge, nothing was certain.
Now the Gators are Rex's team.
"He's definitely changed," senior receiver Taylor Jacobs said. "Rex is a leader this year. He's a lot more serious. This is his team and he knows there's a lot on the line. You can tell by the way he was in the offseason and how he is in practice; he's different."
The new Grossman confidently talks to reporters, seemingly no longer annoyed by the media frenzy he generates. He exudes confidence when he talks about trying to prove Florida is not a synonym for Spurrier and he, and other quarterbacks, are not just the system.
"If people label me as a product of his system, then, yeah, I want to break that mold," he said. "But it's my opinion that there's no good quarterback in a bad system. So it takes both. You have to be a good quarterback in a good system to succeed. Personally, it's not a motivating factor to me to break that mold, but it would be nice, if people do say that, to show them that I can do well in any system."
His teammates notice a difference in the way he talks and performs on the practice field.
"Last year I think Rex took more of a back-seat role to some of the other players," junior offensive lineman Shannon Snell said. "Even though he was the quarterback and he was supposed to be a leader, I think he took a back-seat role to guys like Lito (Sheppard). I think this year, he's more of a leader. He's still Rex, but he's much more serious, much more down to business, we've got to get this done, we'll joke around later, instead of joke, joke all the time. He's taking charge. This is his offense and he knows he's got to run it."
There was a point when Grossman was unsure about his role this season.
It was a desire to play for Spurrier that led Grossman to lobby the Gators for a scholarship, going so far as to send the former coach tapes of his high school games. Spurrier's departure forced Grossman to evaluate his future.
"Everybody has times in their life when they have to make an important decision, whether it's to take a job or to go to a school or to do certain things, and that was just an important decision in his life," said Dan Grossman, Rex's father. "When you're basing everything on the unknown, coming off the season he had, it's like, well, it might be time to go."
Florida offensive coordinator Ed Zaunbrecher has coached many successful quarterbacks, recently Marshall's Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich. Zaunbrecher said Grossman possesses something all outstanding quarterbacks have: love of the game.
"Guys that are successful always love to play football," Zaunbrecher said. "They enjoy the competition, they are tough-minded guys. I've been around a lot of different releases, a lot of different-sized guys, a lot of different things, but those traits are common to them. They are guys that are competitive. He has great skills, but he enjoys playing. He's working hard to prepare and to learn all the intricacies of what he's supposed to do. He's a leader on the team. All the things you'd like for a quarterback to be."
Grossman, Heisman Trophy runner-up last season, is among the preseason favorites to win, but repeatedly has said his biggest goal is helping the Gators win. Such talk has endeared him to Zook.
"Football to me is the ultimate team game and Rex Grossman would be the first guy to tell you that," Zook said. "There have not been too many teams that have gone on and won the big game without a great quarterback. But on the same token, John Elway is one of the best quarterbacks that ever lived, arguably one of the top three or four in the game, and he didn't win a Super Bowl until he got that runner. ... It's a team game and it takes everybody. And one of the greatest things about Rex Grossman is he knows that."
What Grossman also knows is good quarterbacks usually get better with time. He is preparing to open the season Aug. 31 playing in a new offense but hoping his preparation the past four months -- and everything he's been through to this point -- will benefit him this season.
Grossman is only a junior, but if history is any indicator, what happens during the next four months will go a long way toward determining his future.
"Don't assume anything," Grossman said when asked if this year will be his last. "I can't say what I'm going to do next year. All I'm worried about is this season."