Tebow taking reins



The wait is over. The hype is here. After more praise handed out and expectations levied to fill a year’s worth of Sports Illustrated’s college-preview issues, sophomore Tim Tebow takes the reins of the Gators this season.

Ever since he set foot in Gainesville, Florida coach Urban Meyer has waited patiently for Tebow to run his spread-option offense that won a national championship last season and took the Utah Utes to an undefeated season and a Fiesta Bowl win in 2004.

Before Tebow takes a snap as a Division I starter, the college football world already has placed him on the long list of great Florida quarterbacks. Some media outlets have anointed the Ponte Vedra product to legendary status.

“Everyone is always coming for you here,” Tebow said during Florida’s media day. “You can’t worry about that. You can only worry about what you can control, which is going out and practicing as hard as you can.

“You can’t focus on what everyone says, just what you can do and how you relate to your teammates and how hard you go out there and work.”

Working hard hasn’t been an issue for Tebow. After enrolling at Florida in January 2006, during what should have been his last semester of high school, Tebow lifted weights with the linebackers, and as the Tebow legend goes, he would run head first into the wall during mat drills.

Last season, as Chris Leak’s backup, Tebow was used mainly during short-yardage situations, often when the Gators needed a crucial first down. Tebow didn’t mind lowering his shoulder and bulldozing a linebacker to gain the necessary yardage.

This year, Meyer has been trying to instill the importance of sliding, something Chris Leak did, some thought too often, during his career. But Chris Leak never got hurt, and Meyer wants to see the same from Tebow.

“I think one of the things he is learning at this point is that he has to bounce back and still stay in the pocket, where I think a lot of times in the past he would want to bounce back and just run somebody over,” offensive coordinator Dan Mullen said. “But the one thing with Tim is that he wants to be a great quarterback. He doesn’t want to just be a guy who can run a linebacker over.”

Last season Tebow rushed for 469 yards and led the Gators with eight touchdowns. He passed for 358 yards and five TDs.

Meyer used Tebow in running situations often enough that defenses knew what to expect when Tebow came on the field. Meyer used that to Florida’s advantage against LSU during the sixth week of the season when Tebow tossed two touchdown passes on fake runs.

This year, Tebow will get to show off his arm, which has been almost dormant since he produced a state high school record for yards passing.

In case Tebow gets hurt, Mullen is hoping to have three other “starters” in the wings. Behind Tebow on the depth chart are freshman Cam Newton, junior Bryan Waggener and freshman John Brantley.

“They are developing really well and they are catching on,” Tebow said. “They are learning and working really hard and that is good to see. I think we’ve got chemistry between the four of us.”

Meyer has said he wants to use a quarterback rotation similar to last year and Mullen said all four are preparing for the opportunity to start. But the three newcomers know that it is Tebow’s team to begin with.

John Brantley, whose father John played at Florida in the late 1970s, said Tebow has been “real helpful so far.”

“It has been fun having four quarterbacks in there,” Tebow said. “It has made meetings a lot different. It is not that hard being a leader, but just taking them and helping them. That makes me a better quarterback. If you can teach something then you are going to know it better.”

One thing already established is that Gator Nation has Tebowitis. Tebow said he can’t go anywhere without being recognized, and that includes airports in the Philippines where he spends summers with his family on missionary trips.

But like a coach and a surrogate football father, Meyer won’t let Tebow fever get out of hand.

“I think Tim is a very mature guy. I think he’s got a very mature family, and we’re going to protect him a little bit,” Meyer said. “I can see Dan (Mullen) starting to do that already. Tim can’t say ‘No,’ which is one of his problems.

“He’s got to get first downs and he’s been asked to do quite a bit. So, is there a concern? Yes. Do we have a plan in place to manage that concern? Yes. I do love that guy and he’s going to be a great football player.”

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