Sports on the Edge – Tim Tebow: Gator Nation’s Golden Boy
Tim Tebow:
Gator Nation’s Golden Boy
Name: Tim Tebow
Who He Is: Quarterback, University of Florida
Why He’s Fearless: A quarterback who looks like a linebacker, the 21-year-old, 240-pound Tebow was the first college player to both rush and throw for 20 touchdowns in a season as well as the only sophomore ever to win the Heisman trophy. He followed that up with a national championship last year but what makes him fearless is his willingness to throw himself at defenses, often without the help of blockers. Tebow, who has the approximate dimensions of a walk-in fridge, doesn’t need them.
Most Fearless Moment: After a shocking loss to unranked Ole Miss last fall, Tebow gave an emotional speech to the media in which he accepted the blame and said: “To the fans, I’m sorry. We were hoping for an undefeated season. But I promise you one thing: A lot of good will come out of this. You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of this season, and you’ll never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of this season.” Florida turned those words into a plaque and Tebow lived up to them as his team went on to win the national title.
Expert Testimony: “Very seldom do you see a quarterback at any level of football be your toughest guy physically and want to deliver the blows,” says the former Notre Dame coach Bob Davie, for whom Florida coach Urban Meyer and at least two of his assistants worked. “Most quarterbacks obviously want to shy away from contact. Tim’s looking to inflict pain.”