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Timothy R. "Timmy" Tebow (born August 14, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the Florida Gators. A highly-touted quarterback known for his ability to run and pass, Tebow chose Florida over Alabama, Michigan, USC and LSU. He is from St. Augustine, Florida, and played quarterback for Allen D. Nease Senior High School, where he became a highly touted Division I-A recruit and ranked among the top quarterback prospects in the nation. In his first season with the Gators, Tebow became an integral part of Urban Meyer's offense as backup to starter Chris Leak as well as a key player in certain situations, providing a hard-to-defend "dual threat" as both a runner and a passer. Coach Meyer has described Tebow as the "sparkplug" of the Gator offense, providing a much needed jolt at just the right time during the games. As a true freshman, Tim Tebow's contribution has helped the Gators win college football's 2007 national championship game for the first time since 1996. Early lifeThe 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.[1] All of the 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 St. Augustine and his performance soon began to turn some heads which even led to a minor controversy over him being a homeschooled student.[2] As a junior, Tebow’s stock continued to rise 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. 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. 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. 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, Tebow was featured prominently in an ESPN “Outside The Lines” feature on homeschooled athletes seeking equal access to high school athletics in other states. Many believe that Tebow's strong character and pursuit of excellence serve as a shining example of the virtues of homeschooling. In fact, his popularity inspired "equal access" supporters in Alabama to name their bill in the Alabama Legislature "The Tim Tebow Bill".[3] 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 Tebow did in Florida. College career
 In Florida's 2006 "Orange and Blue" Spring scrimmage, Tebow completed 15 of 21 pass attempts for 197 yards and one touchdown. After the game, some Gator fans suggested that Tebow could be named the starting quarterback over current starter, Chris Leak. Coach Urban Meyer later stated that despite Tebow's impressive performance, Leak would remain the starting quarterback.[4] Prior to the 2006 season, Tebow was listed by Sports Illustrated as college football's future top mobile quarterback.[5] 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 Central Florida, 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. 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. 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. 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. Tebow has been named as one of the "Breakout Players of 2007" for college football by Sporting News, and is the likely starter at quarterback for the Florida Gators in the 2007 season.[6] The Gators' offense in 2007 should be similar to what Urban Meyer used at Utah, since Meyer views Tebow as “very similar to Alex Smith.”[7] 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. References
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United States
Philippines
