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+----- Thread: Rex 4 Heisman tour begins (/thread-11969.html)
- calling_the_hogs - 06-28-2002 10:18 AM
Florida Hopes Heisman in Store for Grossman
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Wednesday, June 19, 2002
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- The Heisman Trophy campaign for Florida quarterback Rex Grossman is beginning not on billboards or the internet, but at the shopping mall.
This year, the Gators are bucking their tradition by selling replicas of Grossman's No. 8 Florida jersey at sporting goods stores, hoping the sales will draw him some attention before the season starts.
As a general policy, athletic director Jeremy Foley doesn't like marketing uniforms with players' numbers on them, mainly because it's the school that makes the money off the sales, and not the players themselves.
"This is not a normal situation, but when you've got a guy who was second in the Heisman Trophy race, you have to think about it," Foley said Wednesday. "I think the fans like it. When you have that kind of high-profile player, I think it's good for your program."
Grossman threw for 3,896 yards last season and finished second to Eric Crouch in the Heisman Trophy voting. The junior is among the favorites to win college football's highest individual honor in 2002, and Florida is putting itself in position to promote its quarterback, and make some money in the meantime.
Before the 1996 season, Florida marketed quarterback Danny Wuerffel's jersey, and Wuerffel went on to win the Heisman.
In most other seasons, Florida has sold replica jerseys with the numbers of the year -- i.e., "97," "99," "1" -- on them.
The replica jerseys retail for between $50 and $70.
"If we make any money off that jersey, it's because of Rex," Foley said. "We need to have that understanding up front. We talked to Rex's family before we did it. They had no issues with that. In fact, I think they kind of liked it."
Grossman's father, Dan, didn't immediately return messages left at his office in Indiana by The Associated Press.
After Foley hired Ron Zook to replace Steve Spurrier, Grossman made the difficult decision to stay at Florida for his junior season. In his pitch to Grossman, Zook told him he would design an offense that would give him a chance to win the Heisman.
However, Foley said nobody ever made any promises to Grossman to hype his Heisman candidacy.
Florida has produced two Heisman winners -- Spurrier and Wuerffel.
But the school has never made grand publicity sweeps for its Heisman candidates -- many schools are fond of building elaborate web pages for their candidates; Oregon put a billboard of quarterback Joey Harrington in Times Square -- and Foley said he expects things to remain the same this year.
"Obviously, I think you've got to make the nation aware of the guy's accomplishments," Foley said. "But also, because of the schedule we play, the national TV exposure we get, there will be no question about the exposure he'll get."
- Gabi - 06-29-2002 05:14 PM
hmm I dont know if this is a good idea...it might just jinx his chances. But according to most ppl Fl will suck next yr so it wont even matter. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> I hope for his sake he has a great yr..he deserved the heisman last yr IMO.
- orangetd88 - 06-29-2002 06:19 PM
It begins now, and ends in Knoxville...he, he, he
- Gabi - 07-03-2002 05:08 PM
hmm...do you want your ***** slap now or later? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />
- Gabi - 07-03-2002 05:09 PM
grrrr@***** ...I think you are smart enough to comprehend what that was. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" />
- WazzuCoug82 - 07-25-2002 06:37 PM
if should have won last year..junior rule!!