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Tim Tebow Article
As Good off the Field Than On It
8.1.08
Tim Tebow might be the most polarizing figure in college football history. On one hand you have a group of fans that can't get enough of the guy's power running game and his efficient passes. Then on the other you have a group that thinks Tebow is cocky and dislikes the amount of publicity he has gotten since his high school days. The second group is hard to understand. Tebow is not only a great football player, but he's even a better person.
Born as a son of Christian Missionaries in the Philippines, Tim Tebow almost missed out on life. His mother was actual infected with a pathogenic amoeba prior to his birth, and an abortion was actually recommended by her doctors. Thankfully to college football fans, Pam survived the scare and one of college football's most exciting players ever was born.
Fast forward to the year 1996. A young Tim Tebow was watching his hero, Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel, lead the Florida Gators to its first ever national championship. Also, that year another big event happened in the Sunshine State. The State of Florida in 1996 passed a law that allowed all home schooled students to participate in athletics at the local high school district in which they played. Who could've ever thought that in the same year Spurrier's Fun N' Gun was humiliating SEC defenses, that a law would pass that would allow the Gator faithful to watch an even more exciting player than Wuerffel a decade later.
Twice during his High School career Tebow was named Florida's Player of the Year. During his senior season he was named Florida's Mr. Football because of a career that saw him pass for 9,810 yards and run for 3,186. Possibly the most intriguing fact is that Tebow actually finished a game with a broken leg, possibly one of the first signs of the toughness we see today against the nation's top defenses.
Tebow even started to gain national attention from those in the media. ESPN featured him on a show called "Tim Tebow: The Chosen One" This show focused not only on the skills of a young high school football player, but also on his missionary work and the home school controversy that surrounded Tebow at the time. One could point to this show as a reason why so many dislike the guy. The attention ESPN was giving was far more than the average high school player gets. He was also featured in Sports Illustrated as one of its weekly "Faces in the Crowd".
Coaches were starting to notice the young gunslinger as well. Mike Shula at Alabama started to put all his focus on Tim Tebow. To illustrate how much Alabama wanted Tebow all you have to do is look at Chris Smelley, a four star prospect by most that lived in Tuscaloosa. In his own backyard Shula had a highly rated prospect, but he thought so highly on Tebow that Smelley was basically ignored. Nearly every major college wanted Tebow's services, but in the end it was between the Crimson Tide and the Gators. Shula did his best and formed a tight relationship, but Urban Meyer's spread offense was too much to pass on. Tebow was one of three highly touted quarterbacks to come out of the 2006 class. Mitch Mustain(Arkansas) and Matthew Stafford(Georgia) also signed with SEC schools.
The 2006 season saw the Florida Gators win its second National Championship with a thumping of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Chris Leak was the QB of the team, but Tim Tebow saw plenty of action in short yardage situations. Very rarely could anyone stop Tebow. Against Tennessee he accounted for a critical fourth down run near the end of the game which led to a Gator go-ahead touchdown. Against LSU ran for a TD and also passed for two touchdowns. One of those touchdowns made highlight films all across the country, a 1 yard jump pass to tight end Tate Casey. In the BCS title game against Ohio State, Tebow passed and ran for a TD.
Despite having a solid true freshman year, critics of Tebow's game came out. Due to being used in so many short yard situations, the reputation that he couldn't throw the ball was formed by many fans and several media members. Critics said such things as "The SEC's speed will stop Tebow's running", "He can't pass the ball", "He can't read SEC defenses", and "He doesn't have the skills to drop back and deliver the long ball". Sports Illustrated though did come out and name Tebow as one of the "Breakout Players for 2007". SI was right on this one.
The 2007 season was something we had never seen out of a college football player before. Tebow finished the regular season with 3,132 yards passing 29 touchdowns and only six interceptions. These numbers helped produce the nation's second highest efficiency rating at 177.8. Not only did he prove his critics wrong with his passing numbers, but Tebow also showed us what we already knew, he can run. Tebow gained 838 yards on the ground and rushed for 22 TDs, breaking a SEC record. Total, he ended up with 51 total touchdowns, a stat Heisman voters could not ignore. Despite being the preseason favorite and the 2006 runner-up Arkansas' Darren McFadden failed to win the Heisman, as for the first time ever a sophomore was given the award. Tebow joined Spurrier and his childhood hero Danny Wuerffel as Florida's only three Heisman winners(Ironically all 3 are sons of ministers).
As good as his career on the gridiron has been, it's been better off the field. "I want to do everything in my power that football gives me to influence as many people as I can for the good, because that's going to mean so much more when it's all said and done than just playing football and winning championships" Tebow stated at Wednesday's SEC Media Day for Florida. Most players when interviewed at this huge media event in Hoover, Alabama spend time talking X's and O's or bragging about their football team. Not Tebow. For nearly 30 minutes he focused in on the positives he can do outside of the sport. He spoke of his missionary trip to the Philippines, Croatia, and Thailand. He even went to prisons and preached at churches. It's tough enough for student athletes to have to deal with academics and off season workouts, Tebow is going well beyond what anyone expects from him.
NFL players like Adam "PacMan" Jones could learn from the junior "Sometimes my biggest message to other athletes is, 'Yeah, we known you're great in football, but take that greatness, your platform, use it to influence other people" Tebow said "That's much more important than football". How is it a guy so young get "it" and guys who are twice his age still don't?
Tebow's influence has also led to a bill in The State of Alabama. The "Tebow Bill" was first introduced in 2005 and would allow for home schooled children in Alabama to participate in high school sports. Alabama is trying to become the 25th state to allow this activity for homeschoolers.
Tebow will likely continue to be the "J.J. Redick" of college football. Like Redick, he has had threats against him and his family members. Several months back a message board poster released Tebow's personal cell phone number, this led to a "man" call and threaten Tebow's mother. Such actions are hard to understand, but unfortunately it's the jealousy many have towards Tim.
When the Associated Press releases its first poll in the next couple weeks it is likely you'll see Florida in the top 5. Charlie Strong's defense will be much improved from last season and the addition of Southern Cal transfer Emmanuel Moody will certainly take some load off of Tebow running so much. Some state that he could become the greatest college football player ever. Another Heisman win and another national championship would certainly help make the case and his chances to repeat are better than Jason White had.
It will be exciting to see how Tim Tebow progresses. Will he become the first two time Heisman Winner since Archie Griffin? How long will Tebow stay at Florida? Is he the kind of quarterback that can make it in the NFL? Only time will truly tell us how great this home schooled quarterback can become, but unless injuries take over there is no reason to believe he can't.
Matt Barber
dixiefriedsports@gmail.com
dixiefriedsports@gmail.com
