GATORS AT 100

Gators' NFL Pipeline Began With Casares

By JOEY JOHNSTON

Published: Jul 13, 2006

TAMPA - Today, every NFL team is intimately familiar with University of Florida football. It's usually a buffet line of elite players.

And Gainesville became a must-see destination in the 1950s. The Chicago Bears grabbed former Gators running back Rick Casares of Tampa with a second-round pick in the 1954 NFL draft.

Casares retired as Chicago's all-time leading rusher with 5,675 career yards and 49 touchdowns. In 1956, he became the sixth NFL player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a 12-game season.

"Back then, we all had the attitude of 'You mean you're going to pay me to play football?'" said Casares, who never made more than $25,000 in a season. "I hadn't considered pro football. I'm not sure I knew what was involved. Certainly it wasn't on my mind as soon as I got to college like so many kids [these days].

"It wasn't until I got in the service [Casares was drafted into the Army] and played against guys who had played pro football that I started giving it some thought. They said, 'Hey Rick, football can be your career.' That sounded good to me."

Casares' Tampa address has been published in a collector's guide, so he generally receives about 20 pieces of mail per week with requests for an autograph. He still attends the Bears' fan convention in Chicago and usually gets one of the warmest receptions.

And he still has his 1963 NFL championship ring. "My prized possession," Casares said.

UF's NFL pipeline essentially began with Casares, the first Gator to have a lengthy professional career. In recent decades, it has evolved to heights that once seemed unimaginable.

Seven-time Pro Bowl player Jack Youngblood, a defensive end with the Los Angeles Rams, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001, the only former Gator to receive the sport's ultimate honor.

Soon to follow is former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, who retired after the 2004 season. Smith finished as the NFL's all-time leader in rushing (18,355 yards) and rushing touchdowns (164).

The Gators have had 207 former players appear on NFL rosters.

Twenty-two of the 40 Super Bowls have featured at least one former Gators player.

Since the NFL draft began in 1936, a Florida player has been selected in the first round 36 times, covering 27 separate years. From 1983 to 1991 - a streak of nine consecutive years - at least one Florida player was taken in the first round.

"It's like a machine now," Casares said. "Florida's program is as good as any at producing the pro players."