Would Florida have ever turned into a college football power if Steve Spurrier didn’t return to his alma mater to take over the program? What if Spurrier had stayed home and attended Tennessee over Florida? It’s one of the great “what-ifs” in the history of the Southeastern Conference.

During a Thursday appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio, Spurrier talked about his decision to leave the Volunteer State and attend school in Gainesville.

“I think I ended up at Florida because I played basketball,” Spurrier said on the air. “Back in ’63, there was no signing date. So, players could sign as soon as their high school season was over or wait until March or April — whenever they wanted to, I guess. I visited a bunch of places. I went to Duke-North Carolina game visiting Duke one year and visited Kentucky. I think they had a basketball game.

“I was basically going to go to Ole Miss. They were the best passing team in the SEC those days. As a quarterback, you want to throw the ball somewhere. Tennessee was actually getting out of the old single wing. They were in disarray. Bowden Wyatt was sort of let go and resigned, and they had an interim coach.

“So, Florida started recruiting me in January, really. They weren’t even recruiting me that much. I visited down here for the spring game. It was one of those 74- or 75-degree days. I said, man, I think I can take this sunshine a little bit better than that cold. I committed down here and the rest was history. It was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.”

One Heisman Trophy (as a player) and one National Championship (as a coach) later, there’s no denying Spurrier clearly made the right choice to head to Gainesville.