Where Are They Now: Gators Playmaker Keiwan Ratliff
It would be a disservice to classify Keiwan Ratliff as just a cornerback for his time with the Gators from 2000-03. No, Ratliff was a playmaker in every sense of the word, a special talent capable of challenging the opposing team in all three phases of the game.
Ratliff originally signed with the Gators as a 6-foot-0, 170-pound athlete hailing from Whitehall Yearling High School in Columbus (Ohio). As a prep-school two-way athlete, Ratliff played both wide receiver and defensive back, hauling in 88 receptions for 1,640 yards and 25 touchdowns during his junior and senior seasons while bringing in nine interceptions during that same timespan.
Originally slated to play for the Gators in 1999, Ratliff wouldn't step foot on campus until 2000 when he was originally ready to play receiver in then-head coach Steve Spurrier's offense. However, during the fall Ratliff was changed to cornerback, the primary position he'd would play for four years at the University of Florida.
Earning just two starts at cornerback during his first two years at the university, the playmaker was relegated to a special teams role and spot duty at cornerback hauling in two interceptions, something he would excel at, but not dominate, yet.
In 2002, now under former Gators head coach Ron Zook, Ratliff finally got his opportunity. Starting 13 games at cornerback and two games at wide receiver, the Ohio native showcased why he earned a spot on Florida's stellar roster just a few years prior and became the first Gators player since the 1960s to start on both offense and defense during the season.
During the year, Ratliff hauled in four receptions for 58 yards, and a touchdown along with accumulating 53 tackles (42 solos), nine pass deflections, and an interception for a touchdown. He was the only player in NCAA Division 1 Football in 2002 to record both an interception and a reception for touchdowns.
He would also complete a 20-yard pass during the year to go along with 32 punt returns for 341 yards and five kick returns for 53 yards.
While his junior season was a breakout year for Ratliff, earning first-team All-SEC honors, his senior season was one for the ages.
During the team's first five games, the cornerback would record only one interception, much to the dismay of Zook who expected his star player to take the football away much more often.
While at practice in week six, Ratliff would be taken to the side, away from the team's practice by Zook, who, according to an article published by the South Florida Sun Sentinal and writers Jeff Darlington (now with ESPN) and Josh Robbins (now with The Athletic), told the star defensive back he needed to "take more risks."
"When I came to Gainesville, I heard all this stuff about you being a playmaker," Zook told him via the South Florida Sun Sentinal. "They told me you were 'the man.'"
"Coach told me I need to take more risks," Ratliff said in 2003. "He said I need to be a gambler. I was just trying to make sure my guy didn't catch the ball. Now, I'm the one trying to catch it."
Ratliff would end up taking the constructive criticism offered by Zook to heart, a challenge. In the team's next four games, the playmaker would record seven interceptions, ending the season with a Gators single-season record in interceptions with nine, a record he continues to hold to this day.
In all, Ratliff would yet again earn First-Team All-SEC honors and added a consensus All-American honor and SEC Defensive Player of the Year award to his award belt. He was recognized by Sporting News as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and was picked by his teammates as the Gators' Most Valuable Player.
For his time at Florida, Ratliff would eventually be inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2013.
Following his career at Florida, Ratliff would live out his dream in the NFL after being selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft. While his career in the NFL was not nearly as successful as it was in college, the Gator Great would enjoy a seven-year NFL career with four different teams), and two stints in the now-defunct United Football League.
In his professional career, Ratliff recorded 161 total tackles (129 solos), five interceptions, and a defensive touchdown, something that is important to note considering his past with the Gators.
One of the shining moments of his professional career would come in 2008. While a member of the Indianapolis Colts, Ratliff recorded an interception for a touchdown to send the Colts into the playoffs in week 16 of the regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars - something spectators who remembered him with the Gators were not surprised by.
Two years out of the NFL, in 2013, Ratliff began work as a coach for an Orlando-based 7-on-7 team named the Rat Pak. His Rat Pak has since produced plenty of high-profile college athletes throughout the years including former Florida State University quarterback Deondre Francois and former Notre Dame running back, now Green Bay Packers running back Dexter Williams.
Ratliff officially re-joined the Gators, this time as a student in 2015. With 30 credits remaining on his bachelor's degree in sociology, he made it a point to finish school.
"I talk to kids about getting their degree when they go to college and I help them get scholarships and train,'' Ratliff told FloridaGators.com's Scott Carter in 2018. "I kind of felt like a hypocrite, preaching to them all the time about not letting these institutions take advantage of you, make sure that degree is the No. 1 priority while you are there. I didn't actually live those words."
Just a year later, Ratliff would once again join the Gators, this time as the team's Assistant Director of Player Personnel, a position he still holds to this day.
"This is what he looks forward to – mentoring kids and helping young people," Gators head coach Dan Mullen said of Ratliff in 2019. "He's been in all these guys' shoes, from a star in high school, college and a career in the NFL. It means a lot for this program that he's back here with us and helping our players understand the Gators Standard."
A true Gator great, the former playmaker will now attempt to continue bringing in more playmakers to a rising-Gators football team.
Make sure to check out our previous Where are They Now on former Gators cornerback Joe Haden here, former Gator-Great running back Fred Taylor here, and follow Demetrius Harvey for more insights.
