Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia





Timothy Richard "Tim" Tebow (/ˈtiːboʊ/; born August 14, 1987) is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He previously played quarterback for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets. He played college football for the University of Florida, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and appearing on BCS National Championship-winning teams in the 2006 and 2008 seasons. Tebow was selected by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Tebow became the University of Florida Gators' starting quarterback during the 2007 season when he became the first college sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.[1] In 2008, Tebow led Florida to a 13–1 record and its second national championship in three years, and was named the offensive MVP of the national championship game. The Gators again went 13–1 in 2009, his senior year. At the conclusion of his college career, he held the Southeastern Conference's all-time records in both career passing efficiency and total rushing touchdowns, appearing second and tenth (respectively) in the NCAA record book in these categories.[2]

As a member of the Denver Broncos, he started the last three games of his rookie season and became the team's full-time starting quarterback beginning in the sixth game of 2011. The Broncos were 1–4 before he became the starter, but began winning with him on the field, often coming from behind late in the fourth quarter until they won their first AFC West title and first playoff game since 2005, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime.[3] Tebow was traded to the New York Jets during the offseason after the Broncos acquired free agent quarterback Peyton Manning.[4] Tebow received little playing time for the Jets and on April 29, 2013, the Jets released Tebow after drafting quarterback Geno Smith.[5] He signed a two-year, non-guaranteed contract with New England on June 11, 2013 before being cut from the team on August 31, 2013.[6]

Tebow is also known for his outspoken Christian faith.[7][8]

Tim Tebow is a descendant of Andries Tibout, who immigrated from Bruges in Flanders in Belgium to New Amsterdam.[9]Tebow's parents met while attending the University of Florida in the late 1960s. Pamela, his mother, was a freshman and his father, Robert, was a sophomore at the time. The couple married on June 12, 1971, before Pamela's graduation from the University.[10] In 1985, the family moved to the Philippines where they served as Baptist missionaries and built a ministry.[10] Prior to becoming pregnant with Tim, his mother contracted amoebic dysentery and fell into a coma. She discovered she was pregnant while recovering. Because of the medications used to treat her, the fetus experienced a severe placental abruption.[10]Doctors expected a stillbirth and recommended an abortion. The Tebows decided against it citing their strong faith (abortion was illegal in the Philippines in any case). On August 14, 1987, she gave birth to Tim in Manila.[10]

Tim Tebow is the youngest of five children.[10] He and his siblings were all homeschooled by their parents, who worked to instill the family's Christian beliefs.[11] In 1996, legislation was passed in Florida allowing home-schooled students to compete in high school sporting events.[12] The law, which later became known as the Tim Tebow law,[12] specifies that home-schooled students may participate on the team of the local high school in the school district in which they live.[13] Tebow took advantage of this law when he decided to attend Trinity Christian Academy, the local high school in his hometown of Jacksonville, where he played tight end.[14] In 2003, he moved into an apartment in nearby St. Johns County, making him eligible to play for the struggling football program at Allen D. Nease High School where he could play quarterback. His performance led to a minor controversy regarding the fact that, although home-schooled, he had his choice of school for which to play.[14]

Tebow came to national prominence as a junior at Nease, known for his running and throwing abilities, as well as an intense competitiveness. Later that year, he suffered an injury to his right leg late in the first half of a game. Originally believed to be suffering from a bad cramp, he actually played the entire second half with a broken fibula, at one point rushing for a 29-yard touchdown. After the game the extent of the injury was discovered and he was held out for the remainder of his junior season.[15] Nevertheless he was named Florida's Player of the Year and became a major college football quarterback prospect.[16]

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 magazine high school All-American, and repeated as Florida's Player of the Year.[16][17] He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas which featured the top 78 senior high school football players in the nation and was shown nationally on NBC television.[18]
Tebow was the subject of an ESPN "Faces in Sports" documentary. The segment was titled "Tim Tebow: The Chosen One", and focused on Tebow's home school controversy and missionary work in the Philippines, his athletic exploits, and the college recruiting process.[19] Tim Tebow was also featured in Sports Illustrated on the "Faces in the Crowd" page.[20] 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.[21] Despite family ties to the University of Florida, where his parents met as students,[11] Tebow considered other schools, including the University of Alabama.[22] One of the reasons he gave for choosing Florida was coach Urban Meyer's spread option offense, an offense for which Tebow was deemed an archetypal quarterback. Prior to enrolling at the University of Florida, he spent three summers in the Philippines, helping with his father's orphanage and missionary work.[23]
Effect on homeschooling movement

On January 7, 2007, Tebow was featured prominently in an ESPN "Outside The Lines" feature on home-schooled athletes seeking equal access to high school athletics in other states. Because a home-schooler's access to public and private school athletic functions vary by state, Tebow and former defensive end Jason Taylor (who was allowed to play at his local high school in Pennsylvania) argued in favor of extending the right to play for local teams to more states.[24] Upon becoming the first home-schooled athlete to be nominated for the Heisman Trophy, he remarked, "That's really cool. A lot of times people have this stereotype of home-schoolers 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."[25][26][27][28] Tebow received the 2008 Quaqua Protégé Award as outstanding home-education graduate.[29]