Tim Tebow is the fifth child of Bob and Pam Tebow, both of whom are University of Florida graduates, Tim was born on August 14, 1987 in the Philippines, where his parents were serving as Christian missionaries.
All of the Tim Tebow children were homeschooled by their mother who also worked to instill the family’s deep religious beliefs along the way. In 1996, legislation was passed in Florida allowing homeschooled students to compete in local high school sporting events. The law specifies that homeschool students may participate on the team of the local school in the county and school district in which they live. The Tebows lived in Duval County and Tim played linebacker and tight end for Trinity Christian in Jacksonville for one season, but his dream was to play quarterback. Trinity did not pass the ball much and Tim didn’t want to hand it off every play, so he began to explore his options. Nease liked to throw the ball and Coach Craig Howard was known for his passing offense so Tim and his mother moved in to an apartment down the street from the Nease High School in St. Johns County. With the rest of his family living on a farm in Jacksonville, Tim began playing quarterback for Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach and his performance soon began to turn some heads which even led to a minor controversy over him being a homeschooled student.
As a junior, Tim Tebow ’s stock rose as he became a high profile, highly recruited major college quarterback prospect. The 6’3”, 225 lb (1.91 m, 102 kg) quarterback continued to impress during his senior season, leading the Nease Panthers to a state title, earning All-State honors, was named Florida's Mr. Football and a Parade All-American. Tim Tebow finished his high school career with 9,810 passing yards, 3,186 rushing yards, 95 passing touchdowns and 62 rushing touchdowns. He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Game in San Antonio, Texas which features the top 78 senior high school football players in the nation and is shown nationally on NBC television.
Despite having parental and sibling ties to the University of Florida, Tim remained open minded during the recruiting process and became very close to Alabama coach Mike Shula. But after careful consideration and much deliberation, he decided to play for the team he felt best suited his skills and style of play. Tim Tebow chose to play for coach Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators, who employ a similar “spread option” offense that he excelled in at Nease High School.
Tim Tebow was considered one of the nation’s top recruits and was the subject of an ESPN “Faces in Sports” documentary. The segment was titled "Tim Tebow: The Chosen One", and focused on Tim’s homeschool controversy and missionary work in the Philippines, as well as his exploits on the field of play and the college recruiting process. Tim Tebow was also featured in Sports Illustrated on the “Faces in the Crowd” page. On January 7, 2007, Tim Tebow was featured prominently in an ESPN “Outside The Lines” feature on homeschooled athletes seeking equal access to high school athletics in other states. In fact, his popularity inspired "equal access" supporters in Alabama to name their bill in the Alabama Legislature "The Tim Tebow Bill". The bill, which is pending in the Alabama Legislature, will allow Alabama home school athletes to play for their local high school teams just as Tim Tebow did in Florida.
Tim Tebow Bio in 2006
In Florida's 2006 "Orange and Blue" Spring scrimmage, he completed 15 of 21 pass attempts for 197 yards and one touchdown. After the game, some Gator fans suggested that Tim Tebow could be named the starting quarterback over then starter, Chris Leak. Coach Urban Meyer later said that despite Tim Tebow's impressive performance, Leak would remain the starting quarterback. Prior to the 2006 season, Tim Tebow was listed by Sports Illustrated as college football's future top mobile quarterback.
Coming off the bench behind senior quaterback Chris Leak. Tim Tebow made his college debut in a goal line situation against Southern Miss, rushing for a touchdown on a designed quarterback scramble. He led the team in rushing in the next game, against UCF, and finished 2006 as the Gators' second-highest season rushing leader.
He made his SEC debut against the Tennessee Volunteers on September 16, 2006. His performance included a ten-yard run on his first carry and converting a critical fourth down near the end of the game.
Tim Tebow's biggest game to date came against the LSU Tigers on October 7, 2006, where he accounted for all three of the Gators' touchdowns, passing for two and rushing for another. Tim Tebow had a one-yard run on the goal line for his first score, a one-yard "jump pass" to tight end Tate Casey, in which he jumped in the air and double-pumped his arm before releasing the ball, and a 35-yard play-action pass to wide receiver Louis Murphy.
Tim Tebow played a role in the Gators' victory in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game against Ohio State. He threw for one touchdown and rushed for another, finishing with 39 rushing yards.
Tim Tebow Bio in 2007
Tim Tebow was named as one of the "Breakout Players of 2007" for college football by Sporting News, and will start at quarterback for the Florida Gators in the 2007 season. The Gators' offense in 2007 should be similar to what Urban Meyer used at Utah, since Meyer views Tim Tebow as “very similar to Alex Smith.” Smith was quarterback for Meyer's last team at Utah in 2004, which became the first team from outside the BCS conferences to play in and win a BCS bowl game, and went on to be the top overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.
While there were some questions about how he would perform as a full time passer, he opened the year with a bang, going 13-of-17 for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns in his starting debut against Western Kentucky University. For the season, Tim Tebow is currently 97-148 for 1455 yards and 13 touchdowns passing—ranking third in pass efficiency—with an additional 105 rushes for 500 yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground through six games.
In week 4 of the season, when the Gators faced Ole Miss in an SEC match-up, Tim Tebow broke the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback in one game, with 166 yards.
Tim Tebow Awards and Recognitions
- Walter Camp Foundation National Offensive Player of the Week
- Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week, two times
- Manning Award Watch List
