Gators to unveil Heisman winner statues April 9

The University of Florida announced Thursday that the three statues the school created to commemorate Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996) and Tim Tebow (2007) will be unveiled outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at halftime of the 2011 Orange & Blue Debut on April 9.

Spurrier, Wuerffel and Tebow will all “have a level of participation in the event,” according to the university, a statement that indicates a possibility that all three may not physically be in Gainesville, FL. Fans in attendance to watch the Florida Gators‘ spring game will be able to view the unveiling live on the scoreboards inside The Swamp.

“We are very proud to recognize the accomplishments of our Heisman Trophy winners,” said senior associate athletics director Chip Howard in a statement. “The statues will give our fans an opportunity to see and capture a real-life visual image of each of the storied athletes. We are grateful for the private donations that made the project possible. We are also thankful for the work and cooperation of the Campus Facilities Planning and Construction Department that assisted us in following University policy and procedure that helped bring this project to fruition. The sculptor, Sandy Proctor, was meticulous in every phase of the process and did a tremendous job bringing the likeness and personality to each of the statues.”

Each statue is 15 percent larger than life-sized and will feature the players in different stances. Tebow will have the ball tucked and in a running motion while Spurrier and Wuerffel will be dropping back to pass, The Gainesville Sun reported last June. In all, the statues cost approximately $550,000 – all funded by private donations.

“It was a huge, huge honor to think that they would be interested in putting those up. And certainly to be next to those two guys even makes it even more special for me – my coach and a friend. Hopefully we’ll have room for many more in the next few years,” Wuerffel told OGGOA during an interview in August 2010.