Setting The Record Straight on Tim Tebow’s College Career

The two most unavoidable words in sports since October are Tim Tebow. No matter the outlet or medium, Tebow’s name has become omnipresent to a point extending far beyond the football field. So-called “Tebowmania” has either engrossed or exhausted you. Me, I fall in the latter category — but not because of anything the Denver Bronco quarterback has or has not done.

Tebow is the kind of athlete I would hope my kids would emulate, were I a father: dedicated, committed to team, a leader, the kind of athlete who sets aside off-season time to help build churches in impoverished nations. That isn’t just a role model for sports, but for all walks of life.

Yet for those who want to piggyback off his notoriety for their own gain, Tebow’s character has been exploited. His very devout and very public attitudes on Christianity further a narrative politicians and cable news pundits like to flout, thus his football playing has been politicized. Suggesting Tebow is a less-than-capable NFL quarterback isn’t an evaluation of his football so much as it an attack on his religion. For the vast majority, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Six-for-22 is not a good performance, regardless if the quarterback is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist…you get the point.

The many critiques of Tebow’s NFL performance have categorized him as an underdog, which certainly helps the Michelle Bachmans of the world analogize themselves to him. That underdog characterization has led to some revisionist history, however. As the Broncos bowed out to New England Saturday night, Jim Nantz uttered two shockingly false statements that have become part of the Tebow mythology.

To paraphrase, Nantz said that there were few who believed Tebow could play quarterback at Florida. Let’s hop in the Wayback Machine and rewind all of six years, shall we? Below is the 2006 Rivals.com Top 100:

There at No. 22 is Tim Tebow of Nease High in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. That isn’t No. 22 among quarterbacks, mind you — which would still be a fantastic ranking. No, Tebow was No. 22 overall. Only two quarterbacks were ranked ahead of him: current Pro Bowler Matt Stafford, and Mitch Mustain. Mustain’s career didn’t pan out for various reasons, but all three share the distinction of rating out at five stars.

For those unfamiliar with the star rating as it pertains to recruiting, five stars is also known as a blue chip. The blue chip metaphor is derived from its being the most valuable in a poker set, and Urban Meyer certainly agreed. You know, the same Urban Meyer who had just coached the overall No. 1 pick and a quarterback still playing in these NFL Playoffs, Alex Smith?

Tebow was a can’t-miss prospect for UF and Meyer, yet the further removed he is from the recruiting trail, the more miss he becomes. The fallacy is one even pushed in a Tebow ad campaign:

Looking to Rivals.com once more, here’s J.C. Shurbutt’s evaluation:

"Brings big-time athletic ability to the table for a quarterback prospect. Has a strong arm and above average speed and elusiveness. Showed positive leadership ability in quarterbacking his team to the state title as a high school senior. Physical enough player to also play linebacker or fullback should quarterback not work out. Needs to work on accuracy, touch, and gain a better grasp of the fundamentals of the passing game."

Interestingly, the critique of Tebow going into UF was the same as the critique coming out of it with a small sidenote on his ability to convert if need be. Such versatility shouldn’t be seen as a criticism. If anything, it’s even greater praise for his skill set and dedication to the game. And it’s about as close to a suggestion he “couldn’t play quarterback at Florida” as one will see.

Meyer believed in Tebow’s quarterbacking enough to play him as a true freshman, which leads us to our next glaring inaccuracy of revisionist Tebow’ism. The contradiction of Tebow going from unwanted QB prospect to leader of a championship team in his first season has been thrown around carelessly — carelessly because Tebow was a complementary piece to the Gators’ 2006 championship.

Senior Chris Leak completed nearly 64 percent of his 365 pass attempts (332 more than Tebow threw that campaign), scored 23 touchdowns through the air and another three on the ground. Leak also started all 14 games at quarterback. That’s not to downplay Tebow’s contributions, which included five scoring passes and eight rushing TDs. He was a great additional weapon in the UF attack, but he wasn’t the leader. He was setting the foundation for the much celebrated moments in his distinguished collegiate career, like this:

This is how we remember Tebow’s career: rallying the troops at the 2009 BCS Championship game. Winning a Heisman Trophy. Shining on national television each and every Saturday. A case could be made that Tebow had the greatest college tenure of any quarterback ever. Consider the production. His completion percentage never dipped below 64.4 percent for an entire year. He passed for 9285 yards and rushed for another 2947. He was a three-time Heisman finalist, and in his bronze statue-winning campaign of 2007, became the first player with 20 passing and 20 rushing scores in a single campaign.

And he accomplished it all playing an arduous SEC slate. Long before Tebowmania sent national media into a frenzy, college football fans knew all about him. Obviously, so did Josh McDaniels and Denver Broncos’ brass, which traded up to draft him in the first round. None of this comes off like underdog, and therein lies another gripe of those dubbed haters — an eyeroll-inducing term regardless of the context, but especially baffling in this context.

The aforementioned Bachmann ad is a primary example of the politicization. She touts that both she and Tebow are maligned by “The Establishment.” University of Florida football is The Establishment. This isn’t a quarterback plucked from the Sun Belt. This is arguably the greatest college player ever, from the SEC, a five-star recruit who started three years and was a significant contributor for a fourth.

Of course, such politically-charged allusions to Tebow have nothing to do with where or how he played football, which is the shame of this all. He’s been thrust (unwillingly, as far as I can glean) into an arena that thrives on divisiveness and lies, and the narrative that has been spit out now overshadows the truth. And why can’t we celebrate the truth?

The truth is that Tebow was a highly sought after recruit, but unlike Mustain or other five stars, fulfilled his potential. He didn’t just fulfill his potential, but set a new standard for college players. He sets an example for children and adults alike. Perhaps if more folks behaved like Tebow — including the political mudslingers who talk about him without mirroring his qualities — our world would be a better place.

Isn’t that enough?