Meyer's Return to the Swamp Means More than Just His HOF Induction

Urban Meyer returns to Florida ahead of his induction to the College Football Hall of Fame, but his return is much bigger than just an on-field ceremony.

Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer won two national titles with now-interim head coach Billy Gonzales as an offensive assistant. | Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Florida Gators interim head coach Billy Gonzales' journey with the program is well-documented.

His relationship with former UF head coach Urban Meyer, whom Gonzales coached under with the Gators from 2005-09, is well-documented, too, but their relationship started well before the two helped build one of the most electric offensives in program history.

Meyer was actually Gonzales' position coach as a wide receiver at Colorado State from 1990-92. Those three seasons paved the way for Gonzales to become one of the top wide receivers' coaches of his generation with stops under Meyer at Bowling Green (2001-02) and Utah (2003-04) before their five years together at Florida.

It also had a tremendous personal impact on Gonzales, who called Meyer shortly after being named the team's interim last month and still calls Meyer "Coach" after all these years.

"The player-coach relationship, in my opinion, if done correctly, should be one of the best and the tightest relationships you’ve ever had in your life, besides your family that you grew up with or your future family that you will eventually have, just because the honesty, the transparency," Gonzales detailed on Wednesday. "Just talked about it, you’re fighting with one another, you are in a foxhole as a player, you’ve got that trust in a coach that’s responsible to develop you. So yeah, I think of him as a mentor, obviously, and as a coach.

"I don’t call him Urban, I call him coach if I see him, and he’s always my coach."

A cool flashback photo @MattHutch35 tracked down from Colorado State ... No. 26 and his position coach look awful familiar ... #Gators pic.twitter.com/zsw8I05rGg

— Scott Carter (@GatorsScott) November 6, 2025

This weekend's game against Tennessee, in particular, is special for Gonzales and Meyer.

Gonzales is leading the program in the Swamp for the first time as the interim, while Meyer will return to Gainesville this weekend for a National Football Foundation (NFF) On-Campus Salute, honoring his recent election to the College Football Hall of Fame.

It's also Florida's "Saluting Those Who Serve" game, when the Gators honor military members and first responders. As a result, Gonzales invited multiple military members to speak with the team, where topics such as honor, courage and commitment were discussed.

Gonzales sees the similarities from those discussions to his time with Meyer.

"I think if you take a look at how he had his teams ready to compete at a high level. It's no different with our players right now," he said. "We've talked about our players, continue to prepare. We're going to continue to work hard on the football field."

Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer led the program to two national titles in three seasons across his six-year tenure. | James Lang-Imagn Images

Meyer's on-field ceremony on Saturday also doubles as a reunion for multiple former players who played under Meyer at UF. Linebacker Brandon Spikes is currenty on Florida's staff in an off-field role, while wide receivers Andre Caldwell and Jemalle Cornelius, who is Mr. Two-Bits, will be at the game.

Also making a short drive over is former tight end Cornelius Ingram, currently the head football coach at nearby Hawthorne High School.

"You talk about a guy who gave me the opportunity at the University of Florida to showcase my talent," Ingram told Florida Gators on SI. "I was probably one of those tight ends along the lines of being true. He gave me that opportunity to flex out wide. He saw my athleticism."

Ingram starred under Meyer on the field from 2005-07, but the fondest memory comes off the field.

After a torn ACL in the 2008 preseason ended his senior campaign before it began, Ingram watched from the sidelines as Meyer won his second national title in three seasons. While Ingram was far from the star that season, it was he who was chosen to give the Gators jersey to President Barack Obama, a choice Meyer made with support from the team.

"I was actually surprised," Ingram recalled. "He was like, 'Believe it or not, I want you to do it, but all of your teammates voted for you to do it as well... Probably the greatest moment of my life at the time."

President Obama Greets the Gatorshttps://t.co/GHRMw2HOge pic.twitter.com/5fFIGPjWP7

— Javier J. Martínez F (@javiersistemas) July 19, 2016

The biggest lesson both Gonzales and Ingram take from Meyer in their respective coaching roles is it will always be about the players.

Ingram explained Meyer emphasized to receivers to take advantage when the ball comes your way, especially with the number of weapons Florida had on the field.

"We had to take advantage of our opportunities whenever the ball came our way, and I'm telling my guys the same thing," he said.

Gonzales, in his interim role, consistently said the players will be his primary focus as his future with the program, which will be welcoming its fifth head coach since Meyer's departure after the 2010 season.

"It will be about the players this weekend but what a great opportunity to have a chance to honor coach and everything that he accomplished here and in his career of being inducted," Gonzales said. "I’m super excited."

While Meyer will be the one honored on Steve Spurrier-Florida Field for his coaching accolades, it will