On a day when Ohio State was leading its home opener 13-0 early and LSU led last year’s giant-killer Appalachian St by 31 points at halftime, it appeared at least early on that Hawaii would give the Florida Gators a fight.  Florida won the coin toss and deferred to give Hawaii the football to start the game.  The Rainbow Warriors then proceeded to drive down the field and take what seemed like a lot longer than three minutes off the clock before having to punt.  The Gators were unable to score on their first possession.

Florida's first quarter woes continued as they were once again unable to stop the Rainbow Warriors on their next possession.  That was until Ahmad Black ended a promising Hawaii drive with an interception in the end zone.  Twelve minutes into their season, the Gators had already committed five penalties and looked like they had plenty of kinks to work out on both sides of the ball.  Hawaii had controlled the ball for 8:46 of the first quarter, running 17 plays.

A thirty-four yard Tate Casey reception later and the Gators finally looked like the offense of yesteryear.  Gator fans then got their first look at track star Jeffrey Demps, who scrambled for a ten yard reception.  Shortly thereafter, Tim Tebow reminded the 88,000+ eager fans in the Swamp why he’s last year’s Heisman winner.  From the nine yard line, Tebow scrambled right, then left, on a busted option play to score what appeared to be a touchdown.  Instant replay revealed he had stepped out-of-bounds on the one yard line.  One play later and eighteen minutes into their season, Tebow handed off to Brandon James who scored the first of assuredly many Gator touchdowns this season.

Less than one minute later, Florida delivered a Major Wright cross to Hawaii’s hopes as he stepped in front of Greg Alexander pass and ran it back for pay dirt for a 14-0 lead.

A flustered Hawaii soon seemed incapable of moving the football as the new-and-improved Gator defense settled in comfortably, forcing another punt.  With five minutes left in the half, Brandon James reminded fans why he is one of the nation’s most exciting special teams players by returning a Hawaii punt 74 yards for a touchdown.  In the very first half of their season, Florida had already scored one offensive, one defensive and one special teams touchdown.

The wheels continued to come off for Hawaii as another turnover, resulting from a play which new head coach Greg McMackin chose not to review, resulted in a touchdown from one of what promises to be Florida’s most exciting playmakers on the very next possession.  A thirty-three yard touchdown run from Chris Rainey, with some outstanding blocking by Riley Cooper, allowed him to waltz into then end zone untouched.  Hawaii could not get into the locker room quickly enough to grab the concessionary, white towel.

At halftime, the Gators led 28-0 with Heisman hopeful Tim Tebow accounting for none of the Gator scores.

Coming out of the locker room, the Gator offense once again stalled, as they were forced to punt on fourth and fifteen from their own 25.  That was until Coach Meyer called Chas Henry’s number for a fake punt, who ran seventeen yards for the first down to keep the floodgates lodged wide open.  On the very next play from scrimmage, Jeff Demps ran between the tackles, sixty-two yards to the amazement of even his coaches.  And just as fans were starting to complain about Tebow’s lack of numbers, on the ensuing Gator possession, he hit Louis Murphy for a 48 yard touchdown pass for his first of the season.  42-0 Florida.

In mop-up duty, big Cam Newton added another rushing touchdown to increase the Gator lead to forty-nine.  A late 80-yard interception, again by Ahman Black, gave the Gators an even 28 points in the second quarter and 28 points in the third.  Even Hurricane Fay didn’t bring this much rain in North Florida. The Gators ended up victorious by the final score of 56-10.

After a rusty first quarter, the Florida Gators finally showed they dressed to impress.  Even the stoic Urban Meyer was seen smiling in post-game interviews.  Florida came out with something to prove and showed they’re deep at every position.  The backfield, whether running the option or between the tackles, boasts a variety of superstars that could start for any other program in the nation.  Four different Gators scored on the ground and none of them were named Tim Tebow.  While the receiving corps remains a question mark, the backfield is talented enough to keep opposing secondaries honest.  And Tebow is still the toughest quarterback in the nation to bring down.  Although he only finished the game 9-for-14 for 137 yards passing and 9 carries for 37 yards, one got the impression he’s only getting his feet wet.  This Florida team won’t need him like they did last season.  Special teams also played well and Brandon James proved he’s a constant threat.  The Gator defense, a question mark all of last season, forced six turnovers and led many to believe Charlie Strong has turned things around.  Hawaii led in time of possession, only because the Gator offense continue to score at a rapid-fire face.  Including interception and punt returns, the Gators had five scoring possessions under :38 seconds.

The Gators face University of Miami Hurricanes next weekend in Gainesville at 8 pm in front of what could be a record crowd.  The Gators have not beaten their in-state rivals in nearly thirty years.

Football season is upon us and, once again, Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators field a team with national championship aspirations.  While they’ll only admit to setting their sights on an SEC crown, a BCS bid would likely go hand in hand with that accomplishment.

Last year, only one year removed from winning the second national championship in school history, the Gators (9-4) had what, by their standards, could be considered a disappointing season.  While featuring a quarterback who had arguably the most productive season in college football history, the Gators were still saddled with several weaknesses, including a porous and inexperienced secondary and an inconsistent rushing attack.

The 2008-9 season brings another year of promise to the Gainesville faithful as the Tim Tebow-led Florida Gators have as good a chance as anyone to bring home a conference and potentially national title.

Quarterbacks:  Tim Tebow has become the poster boy for college football.  After a record-setting season in which he became the first quarterback to both rush and throw for twenty touchdowns, Tebow is in position to become only the second player behind Ohio State’s Archie Griffin to win back-to-back Heisman trophies.  Such a task will not be easy.  Not only will he continue to have a target on his back, he likely will not have the carries he did last year.   Nor will Coach Meyer want to keep him in harm’s way.  With seemingly unlimited options in the backfield, Tebow will see decreased carries and likely an increase in pass attempts.  Redshirt Freshman John Brantley are Cameron Newton continue to battle for the back-up role with Brantley leading the way ever so slightly.  Neither should see serious playing time unless Tebow gets hurt or the Gators hold a considerable lead in any given contest.

Backfield: The Gator backfield may be as talented and as deep as it’s ever been.  Florida features speed, speed and more speed.  And with Meyer’s lack of tolerance for the fumble, he will look to platoon whoever can hold on to the football until deciding on a feature back.  With Percy Harvin still recovering from an ankle injury, USC transfer Emmanuel Moody will likely get the bulk of the carries.  However, with Kestahn Moore, Mon Williams, the lightning quick Chris Rainey and even Brandon James, Meyer and Tebow will have a full arsenal of weapons from which to choose.  The question is not whether they’ll be able to score, but whether they’ll be able to control enough clock after consistently running past their opponents. 

Receiving Corps:  Florida was dealt a blow when they lost Cornelius Ingram to injury, but as is the case at most big play positions, Florida simply reloads.  Aaron Hernandez and Tate Casey will catch the bulk of the passes from the tight end position and Louis Murphy is ready to step into the role as senior leader of the wide receivers.  With an ailing Percy Harvin, Meyer will either have to get imaginative or hope that some of his youth will step up to contribute some big plays.

Offensive Line:  The Gators stand 6’3” to 6’6”  and weigh 310 lbs across the board.  Phil Trautwein, Jason Watkins and Jim Tartt are all seniors and twin brothers Mike and Maurkice Pouncey shore up the rest of the line.  Tim Tebow is tough enough to bring down as it is.  With that amount of protection, he should have plenty of time to hit his wide open speedsters. 

Special Teams:  The multi-purpose Brandon James once again highlights the Florida special teams.  The 5’7” James is a highlight reel waiting to happen and is a threat to put six on the board every time he touches the ball.  Kicker Jonathan Phillips is now a senior and sophomore punter Chas Henry was money in the bank last year… that is when the Gators had to punt.

Schedule:

Aug 30 – Hawaii

Sep 6 – Miami

Sep 20 - @ Tennessee

Sep 27 – Ole Miss

Oct 4 – @ Arkansas

Oct 11 – LSU

Oct 25 – Kentucky (HC)

Nov 1 – Georgia (Jacksonville, FL)

Nov 8 - @ Vanderbilt

Nov 15 – South Carolina

Nov 22 – The Citadel

Nov 29 - @ Florida State

One familiar with Florida’s traditional schedule will notice a few glaring changes.  In-state rival, the University of Miami, is back on the schedule.  UF hasn’t beaten Miami since 1985 and will be looking to exact decades of revenge against a rebuilding Miami team.

Traditionally, Florida would schedule two cupcake teams before their conference opener against Tennessee.  This year, they have a bye the week before that contest.  They have additionally abandoned their October of doom, deciding to mix in a home game instead of a month of consecutive road games that usually resulted in at least one loss.  Their conference road schedule is favorable, traveling only to Knoxville, Fayetteville and Nashville.  The Florida/Georgia game is held in Jacksonville at a neutral site.  As always, Florida finishes its season against the Seminoles.

Outlook:  While no SEC schedule can be considered easy, the Gators’ is not overly intimidating.  If they can escape a tough match-up in Knoxville, they shouldn’t be seriously tested until Georgia, assuming they can handle LSU in the Swamp.  The Gator offense, which finished third in the nation in scoring last year with 42.5 points per game, should put up similar numbers, meaning their defense just needs to be functional.  Even with number one ranked Georgia in their division, with this amount of talent, anything less than an appearance in Atlanta for the SEC Championship game, will considered a disappointment for this Florida team.

The sunshine state has long been a hotbed for college football.  With an abundance of high school talent leaving for college every year, Florida schools have their pick of the litter of some of the nation’s best athletes.  For as long as anyone can remember, at least one of the big three (Florida, Florida State and Miami) has been a factor in the national championship picture.  In the past ten years, all three of these schools have won national titles: Florida State in 1999, Miami in 2001 and Florida in 2006.  During that same time period, however, these three schools have traversed dramatically different paths to arrive at their current circumstance.  Furthermore, in a state where most believed that no other schools could compete in either recruiting or ranking, the Universities of Central and South Florida have both become presences in their own right.

Flash back to 1998, if you will.  Florida State was about to embark on the greatest season in the school’s history.  In 1999, Bobby Bowden coached his Seminoles to an undefeated season and an ultimate victory over the Michael Vick-led Virginia Tech Hokies.  Steve Spurrier was still coaching at Florida, but after winning a national championship only several years prior, the Ol’ Ball Coach seemed to have lost his edge on the Swamp’s sidelines.  The Washington Redskins would soon come calling.  Miami, under Butch Davis, was just starting to recover from athletic sanctions suffered by the Dennis Erickson regime.  Larry Coker would take over in 2001, leading Miami to a perfect 12-0.  Coker took them back to the championship game in 2003, only to lose to in overtime to Ohio State.  At Central Florida, Mike Kruczek took over as head coach for a program that had only joined Division 1-A a few years earlier.  Similarly, South Florida’s fledgling football program had only begun in 1997 under the tutelage of a young Jim Leavitt.

In 2008, it is safe to say the script has been flipped for all five programs.  Florida State is far from the powerhouse it was in the 1990s.  A team that once dominated the Atlantic Coast Conference, winning its first nine, consecutive conference titles, has not won an ACC crown since 2005.  The school continues to have off-the-field problems with its student athletes.  Their traditional dominance over Florida has also waned, having dropped four straight meetings.  All this has some Seminole faithful questioning whether Bobby Bowden should finally hand over the reins to his successor.  The Gators, on the other hand, are in fine shape.  After going 23-14 and winless in a bowl in three years under Ron Zook, the Florida faithful became impatient.  Zook, ever the master recruiter, left the cupboard loaded with talent and when Florida signed Urban Meyer from Utah in 2004, Meyer led that talent to the mountaintop.  Florida is still right where it wants to be, consistently competing alongside the top programs in the nation.  For the second time in three years, Florida is poised to contend for a national title.  Miami joined the ACC in 2004, but has yet to win a conference title in that time.  Miami is currently rebuilding under young head coach Randy Shannon.  Last year, for the first time in ten years, Miami failed to reached a bowl game  Although they have faced some difficulties recently, they appear to be headed in the right direction with Shannon, but rest assured ‘Canes fans won’t settle for too many more sub-.500 seasons.  Just making a bowl is not good enough for the University of Miami. Since joining Conference USA in 2005, Central Florida has already won two titles.  In 2007, South Florida was the highest ranked Florida school, climbing as high as #2 in the nation.  These two schools are starting to develop a healthy in-state rivalry.  While obviously not holding the same firepower or hype as when two of the big three meet, there is still plenty of talent on the field.  Both UCF and USF have proven they can play with any school in the nation.  Miami may find that out this season as they host Central Florida on October 11.

For four of the five schools, the future is bright.  Florida continues to scour the nation for top talent.  Nobody would be surprised is Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow leads the Gators to another title.  Miami will have its hands full in the ACC, but should ultimately return to competitiveness under Shannon.  That will be no easy task as long as Clemson and Virginia Tech continue to field national championship contenders.  UCF and USF will continue their ascent to prominence.  However, Florida State may face more difficult times before any return to glory.  Bobby Bowden can obviously write his own ticket coaching in the stadium that bears his name.  Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher has been tagged as his successor, but Bowden has set no definite timetable for his retirement.  Extended mediocrity for this program might warrant an exit sooner rather than later.  Nobody expects him to coach all that much longer, however repeated losses to Florida combined with Joe Paterno continuing to chalk up wins on the sidelines rivaling Bowden’s all-time wins might just extend his time on the sidelines.  One thing for sure, once considered one of the most intriguing match-ups of the calendar year, the Florida State-Miami rivalry has been relegated to just another regular season game.

The state of Florida remains a football factory.  While the Florida Gators are clearly in the best shape of the five schools, Urban Meyer knows he can not rest on his laurels.  Miami is back on their regular schedule renewing the rivalry and the Gators haven’t beaten them in over twenty years.  It should be some time, however, before either Miami, or Florida State, contend for a national title.  USF, on the other hand, playing in the Big East, could conceivably affect the national championship picture as ridiculous as that sounds.  After all, before losing to Pittsburgh, West Virginia was poised to play for a national championship.  Their only loss last season prior to that game was to South Florida.  UCF should also not be an afterthought.  Last year’s squad won at North Carolina State and nearly beat Texas as George O’Leary continues to yield competitive teams.  A big non-conference win, for example against Miami this year, will put UCF on the map.

The past decade proves just how fickle a game college football is.  It is difficult to imagine a world where Miami and Florida State do not play a major role in the national championship picture, yet that is how things stand.  UCF, while competitive might never figure into that equation.  College football’s bias towards major conference teams bears that out.  Despite a great season last year, USF would have to run the table to even be considered for a national championship bid.  Then again, nobody thought the Tampa Bay Rays would ever compete in the American League East either.  Florida remains the state’s only legitimate powerhouse, although stay tuned.  Who knows what the next ten years might hold.

The following article will be published in the latest issue of Campus Talk, a magazine distributed in Tampa, Orlando, Gainesville and Tallahassee.  If you're a local, pick one up and increase their circulation.  They also have lots of pictures of pretty girls for extra motivation.

While most college students would rather spend the remainder of summer avoiding the prospect of returning to class, they can at least take solace that while fall semester brings textbooks, exams and sleep-inducing lectures, it also brings about the most glorious time of year:  college football season.

2008’s national title contenders will feature a number of familiar faces looking to punch their ticket to the BCS Championship game in Miami on January 8, 2009.  Lining up for that opportunity will be several traditional powerhouses such as Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida and USC, while other programs such as Missouri, Kansas, Virginia Tech, LSU, Wisconsin, Auburn, Penn State, Oregon, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Clemson and BYU will not go down without a fight.

With each new season, college football becomes increasingly more competitive and entertaining.  Smaller conference teams have shown they can play on the same field as the bigger schools, while the power conferences such as the PAC-10, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC continue to beat each other up all season long until only one conference champ is left standing.  Last year, LSU became the first school to ever win a national title with more than one loss.  Regardless of whether the BCS eventually decides to switch to a playoff system or keep their current format, with such stiff competition, a multiple-loss championship team may now be the norm rather than the exception.

As usual, key games highlight this year’s college schedule, with rarely a boring Saturday on the schedule.  Many of these contests will have a direct effect on the national championship picture.

The season starts out in the very first week with NC State traveling to South Carolina, USC going to Virginia, Alabama facing Clemson and Tennessee going to UCLA.  However, no early game will have quite the hype and anticipation of the September 13 match-up between Ohio State and USC.  Go ahead and mark it on your calendar now.  Both schools will likely be ranked in the top five and despite this being a non-conference game, the winner will be on the inside track to a BCS Championship.  After that game, the Buckeyes will have to face conference rivals Wisconsin and Illinois on the road, as well as their traditional season-ending contest against Michigan.  If Ohio State can make it through the Big Ten schedule relatively unscathed, they’ll have an excellent chance to play in their third consecutive championship game.  They may just have the talent to do so.  USC, for the first time in a long time, seemed somewhat vulnerable last year, losing to both Stanford and Oregon.  Long gone are the days of Bush and Leinart.  Even John David Booty has left for the NFL.  But just because USC doesn’t have those familiar faces doesn’t mean they won’t compete at an extremely high level.  Year after year, Coach Pete Carroll reloads his program with all-Americans at nearly every position.  With such talent, it should come as no surprise that USC and Ohio State are the favorites to win their respective conferences.

Only one week after that mammoth contest, the bulk of conference play begins, with huge match-ups including LSU at Auburn and Florida at Tennessee.  The winner of these games, as is the case every year, will become the front-runners in their respective divisions in the Southeastern Conference.  After winning last year’s national championship, LSU will have a difficult time repeating with road games at Auburn, Florida, South Carolina and Arkansas.  They also have Georgia on their schedule.  Auburn travels to play Alabama at the end of the year, but most of their difficult conference games will be played at home, including games against Tennessee and Georgia.  As usual, SEC teams will beat each other up all season long.  As that conference remains one of the elite in college football from top to bottom, it is becoming increasingly rare for any team to walk away undefeated, or with even one loss.

Georgia is also another serious title contender.  After destroying Hawaii in their bowl game last year, Georgia finished the nation ranked second.  Since they return most of their talent, including Heisman candidates Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford, they could finish this season higher than that.  The only thing standing in their way of a return to glory is their schedule, easily one of the toughest in the nation.  UGA plays at South Carolina, Arizona State, LSU and Auburn as well as hosting both Alabama and Tennessee.   This year’s Florida-Georgia game could be one for the ages and should put that rivalry back on the map as one of the nation’s finest.

The Big 12 must be included in any national championship conversation.  Oklahoma is loaded with talent, but the two surprise teams in the conference last year were Kansas and Missouri.  While Kansas and Mizzou should battle for the Big 12 North title, Texas will do their best to keep Oklahoma honest in the South.   The ACC also boasts national title contenders in Virginia Tech, Clemson and even a pesky Wake Forest team.  And several Big East teams were major players last year, although Rutgers, Louisville and West Virginia all lost talent to the NFL.

Few other areas in the south have as many quality programs as the sunshine state.  Florida, Florida State, UCF and USF all had bright points last season and should carry that success into 2008.  The four schools all play in different divisions, and with a clean slate for 2008, all have a chance to be competitive, and possibly figure into the national championship landscape.

Florida Gators:  Returning Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow has vowed to improve upon the Gators’ 2007 9-4 record, even though few of last year’s losses can be attributed to his performance.  He will have a slew of offensive weapons at his disposal to keep that promise.  Chris Rainey, Percy Harvin and USC transfer Emmanuel Moody will shore up the backfield, while Tebow will have targets to throw to in Louis Murphy and Cornelius Ingram.  Florida’s inexperienced defense, particularly in the secondary, kept the 2007 Gators on the outside looking in at a conference championship.  Even with another year under their belt, and an offense that promises to dazzle fans nationwide, the pre-season favorite in many polls still faces an uphill battle in their quest for an SEC crown.  Florida welcomes in-state rival University of Miami back into the mix on Sept 6.  Although the Gators should be favored going into this game, UF hasn’t beaten UM since the 1980s.  After that, things don’t get any easier as conference play begins.  Their road schedule, however, is favorable.  The Gators travel to Tennessee, Arkansas and Vanderbilt while having the luxury of hosting Mississippi, LSU, Kentucky and South Carolina.  The biggest game, not only in conference, but perhaps of the entire year, may be the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville.  Many have projected Florida and Georgia to be ranked #1 and #2 by late October.  And while the Gators have owned the Bulldogs in recent years, one gets the impression that with their victory last year, Georgia is ready to turn the tide.

Florida State Seminoles: The garnet and gold remain a shell of their former selves.  The program that struck fear into its opponents and dominated the 1990s has fallen upon hard times.  Nobody would ever have expected the Seminoles to tally back-to-back 7-6 seasons.  Years ago, such mediocrity would be unheard of, but now, in Tallahassee it’s the norm.  The rest of the ACC have caught up with the joneses and Virginia Tech and Clemson should yield championship contenders.  Fortunately for Bobby Bowden, both of these games will be hosted in the stadium that bears his name.  The ‘Noles ACC road schedule includes game at Miami, North Carolina State, Georgia Tech and Maryland.  Their schedule is favorable and lines up nicely for them to rebound from their recent woes.  QB Drew Weatherford will no longer have to look over his shoulder at Xavier Lee, which may help his confidence, but Coach Bowden has two sophomore sensations, Christian Ponder and D’Vontrey Richardson, waiting in the wings if the senior can’t get the job done.  Weatherford has the tools on offense in RB Antone Smith and an experienced wide receiving corps to keep the ball moving.  Whether their defense can return to championship form, however, will determine whether we’ll be hearing a healthy tomahawk chop late in the season.

South Florida:  The Bulls will be hard-pressed to equal the success they had last season, which was arguably the greatest in the history of the program.  USF was ranked as high as number two nationally.  Three consecutive mid-season losses, however, brought USF back to the middle of the pack of the Big East conference standings.  They were also humiliated by Oregon in the Sun Bowl, outscored by five touchdowns.  The Bulls return junior QB Matt Grothe who led last year’s team in both passing and rushing.  Someone else in the backfield will have to relieve him of this offensive burden if the Bulls want to seriously contend for a conference title.  The Bulls 2008 out-of-conference schedule features some respectable opponents in North Carolina State and UCF on the road and Kansas at home.  The contest against the Jayhawks may serve as a litmus test for the rest of their season.  Their conference road schedule is not any easier as they’ll have to travel to Louisville, Cincinnati and West Virginia.  With many Big East teams losing key players to the NFL draft, the Bulls might be able to take advantage of their returning experience and finish atop the conference standings.

Central Florida: Like Jim Leavitt in Tampa, UCF head coach George O’Leary continues to build a strong program in a state traditionally dominated by Florida, Florida State and Miami football.  Competing for athletes against the big three is no easy task, but O’Leary continues to bring in young talent.  For the Knights to repeat as Conference USA champs, they’ll have to do so without the services of stud running back Kevin Smith, who left early for the NFL draft.  Also departing was senior quarterback Kyle Israel, which means UCF will essentially be starting anew from the offensive end.  Mike Greco or Joe Weatherford will likely compete for snaps as Israel’s replacement.  Their defense which ranked near the top of the conference in most statistics may have to hold down the fort until the offense can get their feet wet.  UCF has scheduled two difficult out-of conference road games against Big East opponents, Boston College and Miami.  The conference road schedule includes games at UTEP, Tulsa, Marshall and Memphis while they host SMU, Memphis, Southern Miss and UAB.

Last year, history was made in college football.  And Gainesville, Florida couldn’t be happier for it.

As the highly anticipated 2008 campaign approaches, much ado continues to surround Florida Gator sensation Tim Tebow. In 2007, Tebow became the only sophomore in college football history to win the Heisman Trophy.  If his record-setting numbers on the field weren’t enough to secure him the award, his off-the-field character made him the overwhelming favorite.  Florida’s golden boy has at least one, and likely two more years running Urban Meyer’s high-powered offense.  And if Tebow’s performance to date isn’t enough to make NFL general managers salivate, another season similar to his last could conceivably have teams out of contention throwing games for a chance to select him with their top pick.  Sports talk shows in Jacksonville, Tampa and Miami consistently discuss the possibility of drafting Tebow.  Easy, fellas, he’s only a junior.

Most agree that Tebow’s bruising style does not bode well for a lengthy or successful professional career.  In the NFL, opposing defenses are bigger, quicker and stronger.  Safeties lick their chops at the chance to flatten a quarterback heading in their direction.  Even though the NFL goes out of its way to protect its quarterbacks, Tebow’s game as it stands right now will at best lead to extended time on injured reserve and at worst, knock him out of the league.  While the pros have featured their share of scrambling quarterbacks, Steve Young, Randall Cunningham and Donovan McNabb were never ones to run over defensive linemen.  

Coming out of high school, many also questioned whether his game would succeed in the Southeastern Conference.  Safe to say it has.  His freshman campaign included several possessions where he scrambled to keep Florida drives alive, punishing would be tacklers along the way.  Alongside Chris Leak, he played an integral role in their quest for a national championship.  As a sophomore, Tebow’s rushing stats were gaudy, penetrating the end zone twenty-two times.  Tebow is cut from a different cloth.  In only two years, he has become the poster child for college football while nearly single-handedly putting Florida back on the map as title contenders.  His future holds an unforeseeable ceiling, as long as he can remain healthy. 

Meyer has confessed to over-using Tebow last year.  Gator fans nationwide cringed as Urban would call Tebow’s number on short-yardage plays with leads late in the game.  Last year, Tebow took a pounding, including a broken forearm against in-state rival Florida State.  Tebow has never been one to slide tackle or avoid contact.  In fact, he welcomes it.  He runs head first into traffic with little regard for his health, or the health of those attempting to bring him down.  So far, he’s gotten the better end of the deal.

2008 will be different.  No one expects Meyer to use Tebow in that same fashion.  Adjustments will assuredly be made.  With the addition of USC transfer Emmanuel Moody, as well as speedsters like Chris Rainey and Percy Harvin in the backfield, Tebow’s rushing responsibilities should diminish significantly.  While Tebow will still run the football, it’s highly unlikely his rushing numbers will equal those of last year. 

His performance over the next two years will either solidify his position as the top draft pick or increase skepticism about his style of play.  Florida’s fun and gun offense should yield flashy, aerial numbers to add to Tebow’s resume.  National title contention will attract even more attention, if that’s possible.  One thing for certain, Tebow is Meyer’s boy.  Coach Meyer will do whatever it takes to ensure his success at the next level.  Modifying Tebow’s game and winning at Florida are not mutually exclusive.  So in that sense, he’s a project.  A more pass-happy Tim Tebow, mixed in with the occasional power rush, can still translate into success in the Swamp, and a less battered Timmy.

If Tebow keeps Florida in contention for another national title while remaining at Florida, and is once again invited to the Heisman ceremony, one would be hard-pressed to find a general manager in the league who wouldn’t take a chance on Tebow with their top pick, even if they have no immediate need for a quarterback.  While a Heisman trophy does not necessarily translate into success at the next level (insert Eric Crouch, Troy Smith, Danny Wuerffel or Gino Torretta reference here), none of those players won the award as a sophomore.

He’s sturdy, he’s smart, he’s charismatic.  He has the potential to become the face of most NFL franchises, and that sells.  While Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart dropped to tenth in the 2006 draft, it is as likely that Tebow falls that far as it is to find pictures of him doing beer bongs on the internet.  If the Atlanta Falcons are willing to mortgage their future on Matt Ryan, continued success for Tebow might mean he’d be able to name his own price, barring any immediate NFL rookie salary cap. 

Tebow’s success as an NFL quarterback is still speculation, although after only one full year at Florida, he has shown arm strength, leadership skills and unlimited potential.  And while he might never become the next Dan Marino or Joe Montana, one gets the impression he’ll be just fine calling plays and winning games at the next level.