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Tim Tebow

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Template:Infobox CollegeFootballPlayer Timothy "Tim" Richard Tebow[1] (born August 14, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the Florida Gators. He was the first college football player to both rush and pass for 20 touchdowns in a season and was the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.[2]

Tebow played quarterback for Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where he became a Division I-A recruit and ranked among the top quarterback prospects in the nation as a senior.[3] After a tight recruiting battle, he chose to attend the University of Florida over the University of Alabama.[4] Tebow, being a dual threat quarterback adept at rushing and passing the football, was used in his freshman season largely as a change of pace to the Gators' more traditional quarterback, Chris Leak.[5] His contribution in the 2006 college football season was as a key reserve who helped the Gators win college football's national championship game for the first time since 1996.

As a sophomore in the 2007 season, he became the Gators' starting quarterback and broke the Southeastern Conference records for both rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns accounted for in a single season.[6] In addition to the Heisman Trophy, his performance in 2007 also earned him the Maxwell Award as the nation's top football player, the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's best quarterback, and the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's most outstanding amateur athlete in any sport.

Early life/Personal

Tebow at the 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl as a high school senior.

Tebow was born on August 14, 1987 in the Philippines to Bob and Pam Tebow, who were serving as Christian missionaries at the time.[1] While pregnant Pam suffered a life-threatening infection with a pathogenic amoeba. Because of the drugs used to rouse her from a coma and to treat her dysentery, the fetus experienced a severe placental abruption. Doctors expected a stillbirth and recommended an abortion to protect her life.[1] She carried the pregnancy to term, and both survived.

All of the Tebow children were homeschooled by their mother, who worked to instill the family’s deep Christian beliefs along the way.[7] In 1996, legislation was passed in Florida allowing homeschooled students to compete in local high school sporting events. The law specifies that homeschooled students may participate on the team of the local school in the school district in which they live.[8] The Tebows lived in Jacksonville, Florida, and Tim played linebacker and tight end at the local Trinity Christian Academy for one season. Tebow's preferred position was quarterback, but Trinity football team's offense did not rely on passing the football, so he began to explore his options to play for a new high school.[9] He decided to attend Nease High School, which under head coach Craig Howard was known for having a passing offense. With the rest of his family living on a farm in Duval County, Tim and his mother moved into an apartment in nearby St. Johns County, making him eligible to play for the football team at Nease. His performance soon began to turn some heads, and led to a minor controversy over him being a homeschooled student that chose for which school he wanted to play.[10]

As a junior at Nease, Tebow’s stock rose as he became a major college football quarterback prospect and was named the state of Florida's Player of the Year.[11] He would repeat as Player of the Year in his senior season.[11] One of his highlights as a high school athlete was finishing a game on a broken leg.[12] During his senior season he led the Nease Panthers to a state title, earned All-State honors, was named Florida's Mr. Football and a Parade All-American.[13] Tebow finished his high school career with 9,810 passing yards, 3,186 rushing yards, 95 passing touchdowns and 62 rushing touchdowns. He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Game in San Antonio, Texas which features the top 78 senior high school football players in the nation and is shown nationally on NBC television.[14]

Tebow was considered one of the nation’s top recruits and was the subject of an ESPN “Faces in Sports” documentary. The segment was titled "Tim Tebow: The Chosen One", and focused on Tim’s homeschool controversy and missionary work in the Philippines, as well as his exploits on the field of play and the college recruiting process.[15] Tim Tebow was also featured in Sports Illustrated on the “Faces in the Crowd” page.[16] In 2007 he was named to FHSAA's All-Century Team that listed the Top 33 football players in the state of Florida's 100 year history of high school football. [17]

Despite having family ties to the University of Florida, where his parents first met as students[18], he remained open-minded during the recruiting process and became very close to Alabama coach Mike Shula.[19] After careful consideration he decided to play for Urban Meyer's Florida Gators. One of the reasons he chose Florida was because of Meyer's spread option offense, an offense for which Tebow was deemed a prototypical quarterback.[20]

Tebow spent the last three summers before enrolling at the University of Florida in the Philippines, assisting with his father's orphanage and missionary work.[21]

College career

2006

See also: 2006 Florida Gators football team

Tebow started his career at Florida in the 2006 "Orange and Blue" Spring scrimmage, where he completed 15 of 21 pass attempts for 197 yards and one touchdown.[22] Coach Urban Meyer declared that Leak would remain the starting quarterback despite the expectations and performance of Tebow in the game.[23] Prior to the 2006 season, Tebow was listed by Sports Illustrated as college football's future top mobile quarterback.[24]

Tebow made his college debut coming off the bench behind Chris Leak in a goal line situation against Southern Miss. He rushed for a touchdown on a designed quarterback scramble on his first play.[25] In his next game, he led the team in rushing yards against UCF.[26]

He made his SEC debut against the Tennessee Volunteers on September 16. His performance included a ten-yard run on his first carry and converting a critical fourth down near the end of the game, which led to the Gators' go-ahead touchdown.[27]

Tebow's biggest game in the season came against the LSU Tigers on October 7, where he accounted for all three of the Gators' touchdowns, passing for two and rushing for another. Tebow had a one-yard run on the goal line for his first score, a one-yard "jump pass" to tight end Tate Casey, in which he jumped in the air and double-pumped his arm before releasing the ball, and a 35-yard play-action pass to wide receiver Louis Murphy.[28]

Tebow played a role in the Gators' victory in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game against Ohio State. He threw for one touchdown and rushed for another, finishing with 39 rushing yards.[29] He finished 2006 with the second-most rushing yards on the Gator team.[30]

2007

Tebow (on right) and other Gator QBs during pre-game warm-ups.
See also: 2007 Florida Gators football team

Tebow was named as one of the "Breakout Players of 2007" for college football by Sporting News, and was named the starter at quarterback for the Florida Gators before the 2007 season.[31] The Gators' offense in 2007 was expected to be similar to what Urban Meyer used at Utah, since Meyer views Tebow as “very similar to Alex Smith.”[32] Smith was quarterback for Meyer's last team at Utah in 2004, which became the first team from outside the BCS conferences to play in and win a BCS bowl game, and went on to be the top overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.

There were some questions about how he would perform as a full time passer,[33] but he opened the year 13-of-17 for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns in his starting debut against Western Kentucky University.[34] Tebow finished the regular season with 217 completed passes in 317 attempts for 3132 yards gained and 29 touchdowns with six interceptions—giving him the second highest passing efficiency in the nation with 177.8. Additionally, he rushed 194 times for 838 yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground through 11 games.[35] Tebow's 51 touchdowns were more than 87 Division 1-A Teams scored.[citation needed]

In week 4 of the season, when the Gators faced Ole Miss in an SEC match-up, Tebow broke the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback in one game, with 166 yards.[36] On November 3, against Vanderbilt, Tebow rushed for two touchdowns to break the all-time SEC quarterback TD record in a single season.[37] Against LSU, leading by 10 in the 4th quarter, Tebow was largely ineffective and had a turnover as he was unable to lead his team to any score, and LSU came back to win the game. LSU went on to win the 2007 National Championship.

In a game versus the South Carolina Gamecocks on November 10, Tebow broke the school record for rushing touchdowns in a season and set a career high with 5 rushing touchdowns. This brought his season total to 19 rushing touchdowns, which tied him for the SEC record for any player in a season (shared with Shaun Alexander, Garrison Hearst, and LaBrandon Toefield). He also broke Danny Wuerffel's conference record for touchdowns accounted for in a single season with 42.[38]

On November 17, Tebow had a record day against Florida Atlantic, he scored his 20th rushing touchdown to set a new conference record for most rushing touchdowns in a season. He also became the only person ever in NCAA History to score 20 touchdowns rushing and 20 touchdowns passing in the same season.[2]

On November 24, against the Florida State Seminoles, Tebow threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two in a 45-12 rout of the Seminoles. It was later revealed that Tebow fractured his right hand during the third quarter but played the rest of the game. He had to wear a cast for the next three weeks.[39]

After the season was over, Tebow became a favorite for the Heisman Trophy, given to the most outstanding college football player of the year, which he won on December 8 in New York City. He also received the Davey O'Brien Award, annually given to the best quarterback in the nation, on February 18 in Fort Worth, TX.

While the Gators finished the season in Orlando, Florida with a 41-35 loss to Michigan in the 2008 Capital One Bowl, Tebow maintained his record for both rushing and passing for at least one touchdown in every game played, and he raised the record for total touchdowns accounted for in a single season to 55.[40] He played with a soft cast on the hand he broke in his previous game.

Heisman Trophy

File:Timtebowheisman.JPG
Tebow's 2007 Heisman Trophy on display in Gainesville

On December 8, 2007, Tim Tebow was awarded the Heisman Trophy, finishing ahead of Arkansas's Darren McFadden, Hawaii's Colt Brennan, and Missouri's Chase Daniel. He was the first underclassman to have ever won the Heisman Trophy.[12] He garnered 462 first place votes and 1957 points, 254 points ahead of runner-up Arkansas running back Darren McFadden.[41] He finished the regular season as the only player in FBS history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in both categories in the same season.[42] He had 32 passing touchdowns, and 23 rushing touchdowns. Tebow's rushing TD total in the 2007 season is the most recorded for any position in SEC history.[43] The total also set the record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in FBS history. Tebow became the third UF player to win the Heisman Trophy, joining Steve Spurrier and Danny Wuerffel.[44] Coincidentally, all three of Florida's Heisman-winning quarterbacks were sons of ministers.[45]

2008

See also: 2008 Florida Gators football team

Before the 2007 season had even come to a close, Florida coach Urban Meyer stated that he would likely use 2 quarterbacks during the 2008 season to take some of the workload off of Tebow's shoulders.[46] Tebow led the Gators in rushing in 2007[47] but also had to play through a bruised shoulder and broken non-throwing hand.[46]

On November 1, 2008 playing against the Georgia Bulldogs, Tim Tebow ran for his 37th rushing touchdown, breaking the school record previously held by former Florida running back Emmitt Smith.

Tebow led the Gators to a 12–1 record in 2008. After clinching the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title, the team played for and won the SEC title in the 2008 SEC Championship Game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The win secured the #2 ranking in the final BCS standings, which earned the Gators the chance to play the #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game, which they won 24–14.

Tebow appeared on the September 2008 cover of Men's Fitness magazine.

On December 13, 2008, Tebow finished third in the 2008 Heisman Trophy voting with Oklahoma's Sam Bradford taking the top spot followed by Texas' Colt McCoy, despite Tebow receiving the most first-place votes.[48] Tebow also won the Maxwell Award in 2008, becoming only the second player to win the award twice.[49]

File:Tebow returns.png
Tebow announces his return

On January 11, 2009, at a national championship celebration held at Florida Field, Tebow announced that he would not make himself eligible for the NFL draft but would instead return for his senior season at Florida.[50] One day later, Tebow had surgery on his right shoulder to remove a bone spur in an effort to reduce chronic inflammation. He is expected to be ready for spring practice in April.[51]

2008 Heisman Trophy Finalist Voting
Finalist First place votes
(3 pts. each) 		Second place votes
(2 pts. each) 		Third place votes
(1 pt. each) 		Total points
Sam Bradford 300 315 196 1,726
Colt McCoy 266 288 230 1,604
Tim Tebow 309 207 234 1,575
Source:[52]

Awards

2006 Season

2007 Season


2008 Season

Effect on homeschooling movement

On January 7, 2007, Tebow was featured prominently in an ESPN “Outside The Lines” feature on homeschooled athletes seeking equal access to high school athletics in other states. Because a homeschooler's access to public and private school athletic functions vary by state, Tebow and Washington Redskins defensive end Jason Taylor (who was allowed to play at his local high school in Pennsylvania) argue in favor of extending the right to play for local teams to more states.[74]

Upon becoming the first home-schooled athlete to be nominated for the Heisman Trophy, Tebow remarked, "That’s really cool. A lot of times people have this stereotype of homeschoolers as not very athletic – it's like, go win a spelling bee or something like that – it’s an honor for me to be the first one to do that." [75]

Tebow's example inspired equal access supporters in Alabama to name their bill in the Alabama Legislature "The Tim Tebow Bill".[76] The bill, which is pending in the Alabama Legislature, will allow Alabama homeschool athletes to play for their local high school teams just as Tebow did in Florida.

In January 2009, the "Tebow bill" was introduced in the Kentucky General Assembly. This bill, which is still pending, is also modeled after Florida state law, allowing homeschool athletes to play for their local sports teams.[77]

Statistics

College statistics

[78]
    Passing   Rushing
Season Team GP Rating Att Comp Pct Yds TD INT Att Yds TD
2006 Florida Gators 14 201.7 33 22 66.7 358 5 1 89 469 8
2007 Florida Gators 13 172.5 350 234 66.9 3286 32 6 210 895 23
2008 Florida Gators 14 172.4 298 192 64.4 2747 30 4 176 673 12
Totals 41 183.2 681 448 65.8 6159 67 11 475 2037 43

References

  1. ^ a b c Richardson, Suzy. "Coaching character". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2007-11-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Tebow Becomes NCAA's First 20-20 Player". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  3. ^ "Tim Tebow recruiting profile". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2007-11-16. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Tebow chooses the University of Florida
  5. ^ Person, Joseph (2007-11-10). "Dual threat". The State (newspaper). Retrieved 2007-11-16. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Collins, Jeffrey. "Tebow's 7 TDs Lead Gators Past Gamecocks". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-11-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ The Tebow Family Bob Tebow Evangelistic Association
  8. ^ Goodbread, Chase (January 1, 2006). "She Fought the Law and Tebow Won". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2007-11-16. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Glier, Ray (November 21, 2006). "Parents, high school officials at odds over motivation for athletes' transfers". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-05-11. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ Johnston, Joey (December 25, 2005). "A Cut Above". The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 2007-09-17. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ a b Barney, Justin (December 9, 2005). "SAHS' Wiles, Nease's Tebow win state football awards". St Augustine Record. Retrieved 2008-05-17. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ a b "Florida QB Tebow was the first underclassman to win the Heisman". ESPN. 2007-12-08. Retrieved 2007-12-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ 2006 Parade All-Americans
  14. ^ Tebow practices in Amy All-American Bowl
  15. ^ Tim Tebow Takes Center Stage Scout.com
  16. ^ Tebow in SI's Faces in the Crowd St. Augustine Record
  17. ^ FHSAA Announces All-Century Team Florida High School Athletic Association
  18. ^ "Tebow Family". Bob Tebow Evangelistic Association. Retrieved 2008-04-22. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ Long, Mark (September 28, 2006). "Alabama Gets Close-Up Look at Florida's Tebow". The Ledger. Retrieved 2007-11-16. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ "To one lucky program's delight, Tebow sweepstakes end today". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2008-04-22. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ "UF's success is Tebow's mission". St Pete Times. Retrieved 2008-05-11. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ Orange and Blue Scrimmage Game
  23. ^ http://www.alligator.org/pt2/060424foot1.php
  24. ^ "The next generation: Plenty of young mobile QBs ready to showcase talent". Sports Illustrated/CNN. August 22, 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-17. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Text "last-Winn" ignored (help)
  25. ^ Southern Miss vs. Florida USA Today
  26. ^ Florida Gators vs UCF Knights ESPN
  27. ^ Florida-Tennessee game recap
  28. ^ Firstcoastnews.com | Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Brunswick | Tim Tebow Excels as Florida Tops LSU 23-10
  29. ^ 2007 Tostitos BCS National Championship game
  30. ^ "Season Review" (PDF). Gatorzone.com. Retrieved 2007-12-05. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ "Year in Preview: Made men". The Sporting News. Retrieved 2007-09-17. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  32. ^ Schlabach, Mark (February 14, 2007). "Tebow's growth as a passer key for Gators". ESPN. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
  33. ^ "Florida's Tebow throws for 300 yards, 3 TDs in debut as starter". ESPN. September 2, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  34. ^ Tebow Shines As Gators Crush W. Kentucky
  35. ^ "Bowl Subdivision (FBS) National Player Report: Passing Efficiency". NCAA. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
  36. ^ Tebow has big day against Ole Miss
  37. ^ Tebow breaks record against Vanderbilt
  38. ^ "Florida Gators' Tebow terrorizes South Carolina". Florida Today. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  39. ^ "Tebow practices without cast". Sports Illustrated. December 14, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-31.
  40. ^ Capital One Bowl, Gatorzone
  41. ^ "Expanded Heisman Trophy voting results". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2008-02-17. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  42. ^ "Tim Tebow First Sophomore to Win Heisman". New York Times. 2007-12-08. Retrieved 2007-12-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  43. ^ Tebow breaks records against Gamecocks
  44. ^ "Tebow becomes third Heisman winner in UF history". The Independent Florida Aligator. Retrieved 2008-02-17. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  45. ^ "Tebow wins! Can I get an amen?". Gator Country.com. Retrieved 2008-01-20. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  46. ^ a b "Urban Meyer plans to use 2-QB system in 2008". Orlando Sentinel. December 29, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  47. ^ "Florida Gators Statistics - 2007". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  48. ^ "Oklahoma quarterback Bradford wins Heisman". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  49. ^ "Florida Gators QB Tim Tebow second two-time winner of Maxwell Award". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  50. ^ Tebow returning for senior season. Retrieved on 2009-01-11.
  51. ^ Tebow has surgery on non-throwing shoulder. Retrieved on 2009-01-12.
  52. ^ "Oklahoma QB Bradford wins Heisman Trophy". Houston Chronicle.
  53. ^ "2006 SEC Football All-Freshman Team Announced". Retrieved 2007-11-30.
  54. ^ "SEC Football Players of the Week Announced". Retrieved 2007-11-30.
  55. ^ "Tebow named Walter Camp Foundation Offensive Player of the Week". Retrieved 2007-11-30.
  56. ^ "SEC Football Players of the Week Announced". Retrieved 2007-11-30.
  57. ^ "SEC Football Players of the Week Announced". Retrieved 2007-11-30.
  58. ^ "SEC Football Players of the Week Announced". Retrieved 2007-11-30.
  59. ^ a b "Big night for Tebow sets Heisman stage". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2007-12-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  60. ^ "Tebow, McFadden Named Walter Camp Finalists". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved 2007-11-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  61. ^ "NCAA Quarterback of the Year". Touchdown Club of Columbus. April 6, 2009.
  62. ^ a b "Florida's Tebow Named Academic All-American, Manning Award Finalist". GatorZone. Retrieved 2007-11-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  63. ^ "Rivals.com All-America First Team". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2007-11-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  64. ^ a b "Decorated Dorsey leads best of the SEC". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2007-11-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  65. ^ "2007 All-SEC Football Team Announced". Southeastern Conference. December 4, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  66. ^ a b "AP All-SEC Football Team Announced". Southeastern Conference. December 5, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  67. ^ "Tebow outpolls McFadden, Brennan for AP award". ESPN. December 18, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  68. ^ Tebow wins Sullivan Award
  69. ^ Tebow, Parker named SEC Athletes of the Year
  70. ^ Tebow wins ESPY, Florida TImes-Union
  71. ^ Tebow named Disney Spirit Award winner
  72. ^ SEC Football Players of the Week Announced
  73. ^ http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=2&url_article_id=11932&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2
  74. ^ "ESPN Outside the Lines - January 7, 2007". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-12-31. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  75. ^ Lyman, Isabel (December 6, 2007). "Homeschooler Snaps Up Heisman Nomination". USA Daily. Retrieved 2007-12-31. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  76. ^ "The State of Alabama's "Tim Tebow Bill"". Retrieved 2007-09-17.
  77. ^ "'Tebow bill' hits home". 2009-01-18. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  78. ^ ESPN College football statistics
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tim Tebow.
Awards
Preceded by Heisman Trophy Winner
2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Davey O'Brien Award Winner
2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Manning Award Winner
2008 		Incumbent
Preceded by Maxwell Award Winner
2007 & 2008 		Incumbent
Preceded by Sullivan Award Winner
2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Associated Press Player of the Year Succeeded by
Preceded by Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award Winner
2008 		Incumbent
Sporting positions
Preceded by Florida Gators Starting Quarterbacks
2007 -current 		Incumbent

Template:SEC football quarterbacks

Template:College Football Quarterback of the Year

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