By Luke Mills-Hicks.

There are few environments more testing for young athletes than the cutthroat world of US college sport. The competition in college sport is far more intense than any university sport within Europe. However, as a result of this, some people truly shine in this competitive environment, and few people could ever shine brighter than Tim Tebow, the 2006-2009 Florida Gators quarterback. Tebow lacked the graceful throwing ability of other young quarterbacks; Tebow lacked the vision of the greats of the sport, but he would still firmly cement himself as one of the most famous football players of all time.

Tebow was born in the Philippines to a Baptist family and was the youngest of five children. During his mother’s pregnancy, she contracted amoebic dysentery and fell into a coma; it was recommended that the Tebows should abort the child. However, this suggestion was refused, and against all odds, Timothy Tebow was born on August 14th, 1987. Three years later, the Tebow family would move back to the USA, and it was here that Tim Tebow would start his football career. Aged sixteen, Tim would play as a tight end for a high school team for one year, although he was homeschooled. Following that year, he would move to quarterback at St. John’s County School. It would be in this year at St. John’s that Tebow stood out. His determination and running ability made him stand out from every player. He would go on to be named Florida’s Player of the Year; at one point, he even ran for a 29-yard touchdown with a broken fibula and then played the rest of the half with his broken leg.

With 2006 coming around, Tebow needed to choose which university he would be playing at; he was heavily recruited by several large programs, such as Alabama and the Florida Gators. Tebow would elect to play with the latter, and this decision would lead to the birth of a college football legend. Although he was clearly talented, Tebow would not start in his first season but would still contribute to his team’s victory in the National Championship, scoring two touchdowns in the National Championship match and ending the season with the second most rushing yards of any player on the team. In 2007, Tebow was named the starting quarterback for the Gators, and many questions were being asked about his ability to pass. Tebow would answer all of these questions as he led his team to a 9-4 record and became the first-ever sophomore athlete to win the Heisman Trophy, the award for the most outstanding college football athlete. 2008 would be Tim Tebow’s greatest season; he led the Gators to a National Championship and scored 42 touchdowns on the season, marking himself as one of the greatest college football quarterbacks of all time, with 145 total touchdowns over his college career. In 2009, Tebow declared himself for the NFL draft and ended his college career with 28 university records, 14 conference records, a Heisman Trophy, first-team academic All-American twice, and first-team SEC four times.

Tebow was drafted to the Broncos in 2010 and immediately set a record for jersey sales, with 30% of all sales coming from Florida. Unfortunately, Tebow’s fairytale story would end in the NFL; he would be a flop, completing less than half of his passes and throwing for only 2,422 yards in his career. Every week, it became a trend for the Broncos to be scored on to a point where the game seemed unwinnable, and then in the fourth quarter, it was Tebow Time. This is where Tebow would single-handedly carry his team to victory by rushing and making unbelievable passes. Although Tebow had a winning record on the Broncos, he would be traded in 2012 to the Jets, and this marked the end of his NFL career.