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Heisman
Win Won’t Go To Head Of Young ‘Hero’ continued
The University of Florida quarterback was a finalist along with Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan and Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel. The trophy is one of the most prestigious individual awards in all of sports. A homeschooled student who played for Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, when the coach needed another defensive player, Tebow, the former defensive end, answered the call. Following his record-setting high school career, the left-handed Tebow helped Florida win a national NCAA title last season as the Gators’ backup.
A major in family, youth, and community sciences, the 20-year-old Tebow is also excelling in the classroom with a 3.77 grade point average. In November he was selected to the 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Football Team. Affectionately referred to as “Timmy” by his family, Tebow is the youngest child of Bob and Pam Tebow, missionaries to the Philippines. In a profile aired on ESPN during the Heisman award ceremony, Tebow said his priorities are: “number one, my faith in God; number two, my family and my relationships with my family; number three, academics; and number four is football.” Pam Tebow told ESPN that she declined the advice of a doctor to get an abortion after becoming seriously ill and dehydrated when pregnant with Tim, her fifth child, while living overseas. Bob Tebow said his son is a “miracle baby and so we have reminded him of that hundreds of times.” A Florida law allowed the homeschooled Tebow to play high school football. “God gave me the ability to play football and I’m just trying to go out there and honour Him with it and just be as passionate and enthusiastic about it as I can,” Tebow told ESPN. “It’s a game that I love and you’ve got to remember that He gave me the ability and the opportunity to play and it can be gone at any moment.” After receiving the Heisman, Tebow expressed his gratitude. “I am fortunate for a lot of things. God has truly blessed me and I am blessed with so much stuff,” Tebow said. “I’m just thankful and this is such an honour and I am so happy to be here.” “He recognizes that his ability is a God-given gift,” his pastor, Mac Brunson of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida, told the Florida Baptist Witness. He added, “Tim Tebow is the All-American athletic hero. He is clean cut, he comes from a solid family, he has great athletic ability, he’s humble with it, [and] it’s not gone to his head. “I think
who he is is a great tribute to his mom and his dad, in fact the whole
family,” Brunson said. “They are really
an example of what a family can be under Christ because all of them are
so gifted in so many different ways,” Brunson continued. “He’s
got a brother who is an incredible athlete. He has a sister who is an
incredible teacher. His mother speaks, his dad preaches and has this
mission effort in the Philippines. They’re all just talented, gifted.
They’re close.
They’re a great example of what a family can be when Christ is
Lord of everyone’s life.” Calling Tebow a “real leader,” Brunson
said the young athlete understands leading by example as an athlete and
as a Christian. “I don’t want to be just another guy who’s walking down the street. I want when people see me they say, ‘Hey, there’s something different about this guy, and that’s because he has a relationship with Jesus Christ.’ ” Joni B. Hannigan is managing editor of the ‘Florida Baptist Witness,’ on the Web at www.floridabaptistwitness.com. photo by John Angelillo © 2008 UPI Newspictures
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The
six-foot-three, 230-pound athlete is the first major college player to
run for at least 20 touchdowns and throw 20 TD passes in the same season.
This year’s
22 rushing TDs are tied for the FBS record (formerly Division 1-A) for
rushing TDs in a season by a quarterback.
