Three Former Gators Nominated for 2025 Hall of Fame

Urban Meyer is one of three-former Florida Gators nominated for the College Football Hall of Fame.

Former Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame on Monday announced the ballot for its 2025 class, which includes three former Florida Gators. 

Former head coach Urban Meyer (2005-2010), defensive lineman Alex Brown (1998-2001) and defensive tackle Brad Culpepper (1988-2001) make up the group of Gators on this year’s ballot. 

In six years leading the UF football program, Meyer brought Florida back to highs previously felt during the Steve Spurrier era. The Gators won two national championships in three seasons, two SEC championships in three seasons and won three SEC East titles in four years. 

His 65 wins in his six seasons are third in school history, and his 81.7% winning percentage is second. 

After leaving Florida, Meyer spent a year away from football before becoming Ohio State’s head coach prior to the 2012 season. He won his third national championship as a head coach in the 2014 season by winning the first College Football Playoff National Championship Game. 

Meyer left Ohio State after the 2018 season with an overall record of 83-9, three Big 10 titles and seven division titles (the Buckeyes finished first in their division in 2012 but were ineligible for postseason play. 

Including his head coaching stops at Bowling Green and Utah prior to his stops at Florida and Ohio State, Meyer’s 85.4 winning percentage is third in FBS history.

Should he be inducted, Meyer would be the fifth UF head coach in the Hall of Fame joining Charles Bachman (1928-1932), Ray Graves (1960-1969), Doug Dickey (1970-1978) and Spurrier (1990-2001), who was inducted as both a player and a coach. 

Brown and Culpepper’s nominations are the newest accolades in a long list of personal awards for the former Gators. 

During his time in Gainesville, Culpepper was a consensus First Team All-American (1991), NFF Campbell Trophy winner (nation’s top scholar athlete) and two-time All-SEC winner. His 47.5 tackles-for-loss remain the sixth-most in school history. After his career ended, UF inducted Culpepper into its Athletic Hall of Fame as a “Gator Great.”

Brown left Florida in 2001 as one of the greatest to ever wear the Orange and Blue. His 33 career sacks and 13 sacks in a single season remain school records to this day. His 2001 campaign, during which he broke the sack record, led to him being a consensus First Team All-American, finalist for the Lombardi and Nagurski awards and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. 

The 2025 inductees will be announced early next year with the induction to be held on Dec. 9, 2025 at the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner in Las Vegas.

Overall, Florida has 14 former affiliates who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, 10 of those being players. Steve Spurrier was inducted as both a player and a coach. The Gators’ last inductee was former quarterback Tim Tebow in 2023.