College Career
After graduating from high school, Reaves received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and played quarterback for coach Ray Graves and coach Doug Dickey's Florida Gators football teams from 1969 to 1971. In his first season as the Gators' starting quarterback, Reaves was part of a group of second-year star players known as the "Super Sophs" that included Reaves, wide receiver Carlos Alvarez and running back Tommy Durrance. Reaves and the Super Sophs led the Gators to their all-time best season record of 9–1–1, and an upset 14–13 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers in the 1969 Gator Bowl. Reaves and Alvarez subsequently broke every Florida passing and receiving record during their three-season college careers, and Reaves set the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) career passing record of 7,581 yards and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) career record of fifty-six touchdowns. Reaves was a first-team All-SEC selection in 1969, a first-team All-American in 1971, and a team captain in 1971. As a senior, he received the Sammy Baugh Trophy, recognizing the nation's best college passer, and the Gators' Fergie Ferguson Award, recognizing the "senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage."
His record as the NCAA's all-time career leader in passing yards was achieved after a controversial fourth-quarter play in the last game of the 1971 regular season, when most members of the Florida Gators defense laid down on the field in the fourth quarter, allowing the Miami Hurricanes to score a touchdown with enough time for Florida's offense to get the ball back so Reaves could set the record. The event is commonly referred to as the "Florida Flop," and is often recalled bitterly by Hurricanes alumni and fans.
Reaves returned to Gainesville during the NFL off-season and completed his bachelor's degree in business administration in 1973, and he was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1985.
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