Written by Geoff Crawley
OK, maybe not yet. But after he leads the Gators to their first ever undefeated season, wins his third national title, and wins his second Heisman Trophy, he will remove all doubt.
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.
The list of my favorite college football players of the last 25 years that are not Seminoles is short. These are the guys I loved to see play, even against my beloved Noles.
Tommie Frazier. Eric Crouch. Reggie Bush. Vince Young.
I am obliged to now add a Gator (gasp) to that list.
Fact is, he would make my favorite list even with the Seminoles included.
We’ve heard all the lines about Superman wearing Tim Tebow underwear, he was asked to be Pope, but was too modest to take it, etc. He is a phenomenal human being, which certainly counts for a lot. But when his college career is remembered, it will be, at least in my mind, for what he said after the Gators most recent loss to Mississippi:
“You will never see any player in the entire country who will play harder than I will play the rest of the season. And you will not see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody for the rest of the season, and you will never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season.”
Then he did it.
I mean, guys SAY crap like this all the time. And surely, Tim Tebow was not the only Gator who elevated his game after that one point loss last year. But the guy basically called HIMSELF out. In this age of zero accountability, he took accountability, put his team on his back and carried it to the National Championship.
A Gator!
In my mind, he should have won the Heisman for that speech (and his subsequent backing up of the speech) alone. Forget the stats, which are impressive alone. This year he will become the SEC’s all time leader in yards, passing TDs, and rushing TDs. He is already the all-time conference leader in passing efficiency.
Not enough to convince you? The guy is a winner and a natural born leader. He knows how to handle himself with the press and in public. He recently acquitted himself very well in a press conference when he was asked a ridiculous question about his virginity.
Will he be a great NFL player? Probably not. But that is not the question here. He embodies what makes college football superior to the pro game. The passion these young men have is unrivaled.
And Tim Tebow will go down as the best of them all. Ever.
I bleed garnet and gold. I remember with glee the Choke at The Doak and with horror Wide Right I, II, and III (and Wide Left, too). I love the Florida State Seminoles.
But the truth is the truth. It is what it is. And after this season, it will be three National Titles, two Heisman trophies, and the first undefeated season in the storied history of the University of Florida football program.
If he does it, he deserves the title of G. O. A. T. Greatest Of All Time.
And he will top my list as favorite of all time. Sorry, Charlie (Ward).
