Urban Meyer to Enter Florida Football Ring of Honor
Nearly 18 years after leading Florida to the second of two national championships, Urban Meyer will be in The Swamp with a permanent place among the legends overlooking Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
From Steve Spurrier to Emmitt Smith and Tim Tebow, the Ring of Honor represents generations of Gators greatness. Meyer will now join their ranks.
Meyer will be inducted into the Florida Football Ring of Honor on Saturday night during the Oklahoma game. The ceremony will take place between the first and second quarters. He is the seventh member in Gators football history to receive this honor: Wilber Marshall, Smith, Spurrier, Tebow, Danny Wuerffel and Jack Youngblood.
In a twist of irony, Oklahoma is the program Meyer’s squad took down 24-14 on Jan. 8, 2009, to win their second national championship title in three years.
“I am truly honored to be selected for the Florida Football Ring of Honor,” Meyer said in August.
Meyer coached the Gators from 2005 through 2010 where he had a 65-15 overall record with two SEC titles and two national championships. He also had a 36-12 record in SEC play and an 11-4 record against top-10 opponents over the course of his tenure. Meyer’s success wasn’t just two national championship seasons, he consistently positioned Florida among the country’s best. He was 16-2 against Florida’s top rivals — Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State.
His first national championship came in 2006 against Ohio State but it wasn’t handed to him. The 2005 season had the Gators finishing 9-3 before going 13-1 the following year and ending on top of the college football world.
The 2006 title is not an isolated accomplishment. Two seasons later the Gators again ended 13-1 and won their second national championship in three years. Although the following season the Gators fell short of another title, they remained one of the nation’s elite teams.
Tebow played for Meyer from 2006 through 2009. In his time, Tebow won the Heisman Trophy in 2007, was the quarterback of Florida’s 2008 national championship team and became one of the most recognizable players in the history of football.
But Meyer didn’t just coach one QB to glory. Chris Leak led the way for the Gators in the 2006 championship season and preceded Tebow’s emergence as the team’s starting quarterback.
Beyond the quarterback position, Percy Harvin was one of the most explosive offensive players during Meyer’s tenure. His versatility as a receiver and runner made him a crucial piece of the Gators’ offense from 2006 to 2008. Harvin was an asset that wasn’t acquired at his peak but rather was recruited and developed into an offensive weapon under Meyer.
On the other side of the ball, defensive end Jarvis Moss played an important role on the 2006 national championship team. When asked how he views his time as a Gator, Moss said he is “so proud to be a part of that history.”
Moss, who will be the honorary “Mr. Two Bits” for Saturday’s game, was a first-team All-American in 2006 and is associated with one of the most memorable plays in Florida football history: his blocked field goal against South Carolina in the 2006 season.
In an interview with Florida Gators athletics earlier this week, Moss praised Meyer’s influence on the program, saying, “Urban? Oh man. A winner. A champion. A great coach and culture-shifter. He was what we needed at that time to become better players and better student-athletes. What a run we had.”
Florida was already a nationally recognized football program before Meyer arrived because of the legacy that Steve Spurrier left behind, but he helped Florida return to the top of college football and made national championship contention an expectation.
Meyer never recognized his success as something accomplished by himself. He was quick to thank the coaching staff, athletic department, the players and Gator Nation as a whole.
“The championships were certainly special, but the bonds forged with our players, staff, and countless members of Gator Nation will last a lifetime,” Meyer said.
Beyond his tenure at Florida, Meyer also went on to coach at Ohio State from 2012 through 2018, winning another national championship following the 2014 season. He also had a brief NFL coaching tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021. Following the conclusion of his coaching career, Meyer was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2025.
The Ring of Honor is a recognition different from winning another national title or receiving a coaching award; it’s a permanent recognition of his place in Florida football history.
“I can tell you this that my three children, Shelley and the grandkids, they’re all going to be there. That’s how much it means to us,” Meyer said.
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Football, SEC
