athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier and coach Ron Zook's Florida Gators from 1999 to 2002. 2000 After redshirting his freshman year in 1999, Grossman competed for playing time with returning starter Jesse Palmer and the top high school recruit in the country Brock Berlin, in 2000. Grossman started his first game as a Florida Gator on October 7, 2000 against LSU. Grossman had gotten the opportunity to start after completing 13 of 16 pass attempts for 232 yards and two touchdowns against Mississippi State the week before in the Gators' only SEC conference loss of the season. Grossman solidified his position as Florida's starting quarterback during the next two games by throwing for over 500 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions in lopsided wins over LSU and Auburn. He led the Gators to the SEC championship and was named Most Valuable Player of the SEC Championship Game. For the season, Grossman completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 1,866 yards, 21 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions. His passer efficiency rating of 161.8 was the third best in NCAA Division I football. 2001 Grossman passed for over 300 yards in nine consecutive games during his sophomore season in 2001. He led the nation in passing efficiency, passing completion percentage and yards per attempt. Grossman was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, was voted the Associated Press Player of the Year, and came in second in the balloting for the 2001 Heisman Trophy in one of the closest Heisman votes in the history of the award. At the time, his 55 touchdown passes through his sophomore season were the most in NCAA history. On October 6, 2001, Grossman passed for 464 yards and five touchdowns as No. 2 Florida defeated the No. 18 LSU Tigers 44–15. In a 2006 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Grossman cited the victory as his most memorable game as a Gator. He finished second to University of Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch in one of the closest votes in Heisman Trophy history, losing by only 62 votes. He earned accolades as a consensus first-team All-American, the AP National Player-of-the-Year, and finalist for other awards, including the Walter Camp National Player-of-the-Year Award, the Maxwell College Player-of-the-Year Award, and the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback-of-the-Year Award. He ended his sophomore season with a 56–23 victory over the Maryland