Errict Undra Rhett (born December 11, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) for seven seasons during the 1990s and early 2000s. Rhett played college football for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and was recognized as an All-American. A second-round pick in the 1994 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

and Cleveland Browns of the NFL.

Early life

Rhett was born in Pembroke Pines, Florida in 1970.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Errict Rhett
Retrieved July 9, 2010. He attended McArthur High School in Hollywood, Florida,databaseFootball.com, Players
Errict Rhett
. Retrieved June 7, 2010. where he was a star high school football player for the McArthur Mustangs. He also was a two-time state wrestling champion in the 185-pound and 220-pound weight class for the McArthur Mustangs wrestling team. At the 1988 Wrestling State Championship, Rhett did not meet the qualifications to wrestle at the 220lbs weight class because he only weighed 173lbs. In order to wrestle 220lbs, all wrestlers must weigh a minimum of 185lbs. Rhett sprinted across the street to a 7-Eleven, only to return 1:30 minutes later and stepped on the scale weighing 186lbs. Rhett went on to capture his 1st State Championship. When the media asked Rhett how did he gain that much weight in that short period of time, Rhett simply said " What the mind can conceive the body will achieve".

College career

Rhett accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, and played tailback for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1990 to

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 77, 78, 88, 93, 97, 103, 125, 127, 138–140, 143, 147–148, 152, 159, 162, 173, 185 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011. Rhett broke Gator alumnus Emmitt Smith's former Gators career rushing record, finishing with 4,163 yards and thirty-four

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

s, 1,230 yards receiving and two touchdown receptions, and leading the Gators in rushing for all four seasons of his college career. Memorably, he rushed for 193 yards against the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,47 ...

in 1992, and for 196 yards against the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

in 1993. Aided by his consistent running game, the Gators won the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) championship in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

and again in 1993. As a senior team captain, Rhett was named most valuable player (MVP) of the

1994 Sugar Bowl The 1994 Sugar Bowl took place on January 1, 1994, in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana between the Florida Gators, the champions of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and West Virginia Mountaineers, winners of the Big East Confere ...

, rushing for 105 yards and three touchdowns in the Gators' 41–7 victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers. He was a first-team All-SEC selection in 1991 and 1993, a first-team All-American in 1993, and was chosen by his teammates as the Gators' most valuable player in 1993. During his time at Florida, Rhett was initiated as a brother of Omega Psi Phi

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...

. He graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in 1995, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2005. The sports editors of ''The Gainesville Sun'' ranked him as No. 34 among the 100 all-time greatest Gators of the first 100 seasons of Florida football in 2006.

Professional career

Rhett was chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round (thirty-fourth pick overall) in the 1994 NFL Draft, and played seven professional seasons from to . During his rookie season with Tampa Bay, he rushed for 1,011 yards and seven touchdowns.National Football League, Historical Players
Errict Rhett
Retrieved May 23, 2010. Rhett had a career year the following season when he rushed for 1,207 yards and eleven touchdowns. He was involved in a contract hold-out before the season, but still led the Buccaneers in rushing despite appearing in just nine games. Rhett played four more years in the NFL, but he never matched the numbers that he produced during his first two seasons. His best post-Tampa Bay season came in when he rushed for 852 yards for the

. Rhett's career ended when the Cleveland Browns waived him immediately before the start of the season. During his seven NFL seasons, Rhett rushed for 4,143 yards and twenty-nine touchdowns; he also had eighty-nine receptions for 552 yards and three touchdowns.

Life after football

Rhett is the father of three children: son Errict, Jr., and daughters Morgan and Amaurri.Scott Carter,
GatorZone.com Catches Up with Errict Rhett at Nike Uniform Launch Event
" GatorZone.com (September 2, 2010). Retrieved May 25, 2011. All three are actively involved in sports; he coaches his son's

Optimist Optimism is an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and desirable. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled wi ...

league junior football team and regularly attends his daughters' track meets. When his playing career ended after the 2000 NFL season, Rhett returned to South Florida, where he grew up. Today, he is the chief executive officer of Errict Rhett Custom Homes and the Errict Rhett Foundation. Rhett's foundation emphasizes charitable activities that benefit underprivileged children, including an after-school support program, college scholarships, and a mentoring program.Errict Rhett Foundation
Programs
Retrieved May 25, 2011.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhett, Errict 1970 births Living people All-American college football players American football running backs Baltimore Ravens players Cleveland Browns players Florida Gators football players People from Pembroke Pines, Florida Players of American football from Florida Tampa Bay Buccaneers players