Danny Wuerffel Daniel Carl Wuerffel ( born May 27 , 1974 ) is a former American college and professional football quarterback who won the 1996 Heisman Trophy and the 1996 national football championship while playing college football for the University of Florida . After graduating from Florida , he played for four National Football League ( NFL ) teams , and retired from professional football in 2002 . Since then , Wuerffel has led a non - profit organization engaged in Christian mission and charitable work in Alabama , Florida , Georgia and Louisiana . In 2013 , he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . Early life . Danny Wuerffel was born in Pensacola , Florida in 1974 , the son of a Lutheran minister who was a chaplain in the U . S . Air Force . While he was growing up , he and his family lived in South Carolina , Spain , Nebraska and Colorado before he attended Fort Walton Beach High School in Fort Walton Beach , Florida . Wuerffel was a standout high school football and basketball player for the Fort Walton Beach Vikings . In football , he led the Vikings to an undefeated season as a senior quarterback , while winning the Florida Class 4A state football championship in 1991 and earning the No . 2 national ranking in " USA Today " . Wuerffel was widely considered the top high school football recruit in the state of Florida , and USA Today ' s high school player of the year in Florida during his senior year . He graduated from high school as his class valedictorian . College career . Wuerffel accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville , Florida , where he played quarterback for head coach Steve Spurrier ' s Florida Gators football team from 1993 to 1996 . One of the most decorated players in Florida ' s football history , he was a key member of the Gators teams that won four consecutive Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) titles between 1993 and 1996 . He led the Gators to the Bowl Alliance national championship game following the 1995 season , but ultimately lost 62 – 24 to the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Fiesta Bowl . Wuerffel won the 1996 Heisman Trophy , as the outstanding college football player in America , while quarterbacking the Gators into their second consecutive Bowl Alliance national championship game with help from teammates Fred Taylor at running back , Reidel Anthony , Ike Hilliard and Jacquez Green at wide receiver , and Jeff Mitchell on the offensive line . Wuerffel and the Gators won the 1996 national championship in decisive fashion by defeating the Florida State Seminoles 52 – 20 in the Sugar Bowl . Wuerffel was a first - team All - American in 1995 , and a consensus first - team All - American in 1996 . He received the Sammy Baugh Trophy in 1995 , the Davey O ' Brien Award in 1995 and 1996 , and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in 1996 , and was named the Quarterback of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Columbus in 1996 . Wuerffel declined to be included on " Playboy " magazine ' s All - America team as well as its Scholar - Athlete of the Year award , saying , " That ' s not the type of person I am or would like to portray myself as . " His Gators teammates picked him as the squad ' s most valuable player in 1995 and 1996 ; his coaches chose him as one of the Gators ' team captain s . He was later named to " The Gainesville Sun " ' s Florida Gators Team of the Century in 1999 , was chosen the century ' s top Gator offensive player by the " Sun " , and was listed as a member of the Florida Gators 100th Anniversary Team in 2006 . He finished his Gator career by completing 708 of 1 , 170 passes for 10 , 875 yards with 114 touchdown passes , the best in SEC history and second - most in major college history . His career pass efficiency rating of 163 . 56 was the best in major college history and his percentage of passes which went for a touchdown ( 9 . 74 ) ranked first in collegiate history . In 1995 , his efficiency rating of 178 . 4 set a single - season collegiate record . During his Heisman - winning season of 1996 , he completed 207 of 360 passes for 3 , 625 yards ( an SEC record at the time ) for thirty - nine touchdowns ( leading the nation ) and his efficiency rating of 170 . 6 made him the first quarterback to ever post a rating of 170 or better in back - to - back years . He is one of only two Heisman Trophy winners to also receive the Draddy Trophy , which is presented annually by the National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame to the nation ' s top football scholar - athlete . Wuerffel was also a first - team Academic All - America n in 1995 and 1996 . Wuerffel graduated from the university with a bachelor ' s degree in public relations , and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a " Gator Great " in 2006 . As part of a series of articles written for " The Gainesville Sun " in 2006 , he was recognized as No . 1 among the top 100 players from the first 100 years of Gators football . Career stats at Florida . Most Pass Attempts Most Pass Completions Most Pass Yards Professional career . The New Orleans Saints selected Wuerffel in the fourth round of the 1997 NFL Draft , and he played for the Saints for three seasons from to . After playing a single season for each of the Green Bay Packers , Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins , Wuerffel retired . One highlight of his professional career was winning the MVP award in World Bowl 2000 while playing for Rhein Fire in NFL Europa , the Fire winning by 13 – 10 over the Scottish Claymores . Life after the NFL . Wuerffel began work at Desire Street Ministries , a non - profit , faith - based , organization focusing on spiritual and community development in areas of New Orleans . He also speaks to college groups , such as the University of Florida Fellowship of Christian Athletes . In 2004 , Wuerffel co - authored a book called " Tales from the Gator Swamp " , in which he covers his college football career . The All Sports Association of Fort Walton Beach created the Wuerffel Trophy in his honor in 2005 . It is awarded annually to the athlete who best exemplifies his character and on the field play . A small stretch of road between the Mid - Bay Bridge and Highway 98 in Destin has been dedicated as " Danny Wuerffel Way " by the Florida state legislature . Hurricane Katrina destroyed Wuerffel ' s New Orleans home and the Desire Street Ministries facilities . He drew national attention with his efforts to rebuild Desire Street Ministries and New Orleans . On September 30 , 2006 , Wuerffel was inducted into the Gator Football Ring of Honor alongside his former coach Steve Spurrier and two other former Gator players , Jack Youngblood and Emmitt Smith . In June 2011 , " The Gainesville Sun " reported that Wuerffel was suffering from Guillain – Barré syndrome , a disorder of the nervous system , and was undergoing treatment for it . Wuerffel was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013 . Before the Gators ' game against the Vols on September 21 , 2013 ; Wuerffel served as the honorary " Mr . Two Bits . "