Tebow - How Good is He?

I laughed when Urban Meyer called Tim Tebow the greatest player of our era (no link - the Miami Herald took it down). Maybe I was too soon to scoff, my conscience has lately been telling me.

The Moviegoer brought up the point recently that maybe Tim Tebow could be in the running for at least being mentioned in the "Greatest of all Time" discussion. At the time, I guffawed and dismissed the thought. What about Archie G.? What about Herschel or Bo? Or even Gino Torretta or Eric Crouch (psych)?

But, now that I've actually thought about it and it's run around in my brain a while, I'm warming up to this idea. I hate to embrace such an absolute as "GOAT" almost as much as I hate to do it over a Gator, but I think there's some credence to it.

Now, he's not the best QB ever. That's obvious. He's not the fastest or strongest, and maybe he can't play under center in the bigs, but the boy's just a flat out gamer. He has willed this team to the BCS title game, and if they win, it'll be because of him. Not his play, but his presence. He could get hurt in the third quarter and Florida could still win, powered by the residue of his presence on the field and his leadership on the sideline. Watch him run round and pump up everybody. He gets in the faces of his O-line, his backs, his receivers and the D. He pumps his fist and waves his arms. He flexes and jumps and challenges and lauds and the whole fucking team just feeds off of it.

Just watch his post-loss to Ole Miss speech. That's the character and leadership college football needs. Combine that with his hard-nosed toughness and will to win, his stats and death defying, skull crushing style of play and you just might have one of the GOAT. He owns records and the only Heisman won by a sophomore. He won a national title as a freshman. He brought back the jump pass and leaves it all on the field. In short, he plays like a champion. Now, imagine if he adds another Heisman and another title ring. That would be sick. He probably won't win the DTAC trophy, but he'll be in NYC for the ceremony. The title, though, is a distinct possibility. And even one out of the two would be enough to put him into this conversation.

So, yes, I think Tebow could be considered one of the greatest players of all time. And, while it's a bit early to be debating this maybe, I think his name would have to be on a short list. At least for the BCS era. In the end, does Tebow play lights out football? Yes. But, it's his off-field aura that catapults him into this discussion.

This needs to be re-mixed with this season's highlights.