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Heisman Still Helps Wuerffel Make Difference

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 5, 2007

Danny Wuerffel was on the run, rushing between meetings and airport gates on a mission to spread perpetual good will. And it is a mission, a calling to keep helping those who need it most. He never stops.

So it seemed sort of silly in a brief phone call to ask him about football, considering the importance of his work with the displaced people of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and all those countless others who otherwise would have been forgotten by society. As executive director of Desire Street Ministries, Wuerffel is one of the strongest symbols one can find to represent the things that really matter in life.

But they'll award the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, and Wuerffel won it 11 years ago while leading the University of Florida to the national championship. With Florida's Tim Tebow now considered the favorite to become the first Gator since Wuerffel to win the Heisman, it's a natural topic. Besides, the parallels between the two are striking.

Tebow's missionary work off the field and his life of service make him as fitting an heir to Wuerffel's legacy as his performance in games this season. If they gave a Heisman for outstanding performance as a human being, Wuerffel might be a unanimous winner.

"He is a class act," Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said. "He has always been one of my favorite people. He's just good guy. I just like being around him. He is one of those people who always had greater concerns for other people. Danny always has a smile on his face, and he always says yes."

Heisman Moment

That night he stood on the podium after being chosen the best college football player in the land, it all came together. He had a feeling of relief after so much build-up and a sense that he had been given a large stage that would allow his life to make a difference for others.

"It definitely seemed surreal," he said. "I was just so amazed and humbled that I was standing on that podium accepting the Heisman Trophy."

And he understands what Tebow must be going through now.

"I certainly felt the pressure and the hype my junior and especially my senior year. I think the difference for Tim, unfortunately, is that it has hit him so early in his career and it has just exploded. He had pressure coming into Florida as a highly recruited athlete, but the national attention that early in his career is just really crazy," he said.

"But I think it's great he's getting so much publicity. I'm really honored to be considered connected with Tim Tebow. I would characterize him as an incredibly talented football player, a dominant football player, a really great and fine human being."

So is Wuerffel. At an age when he could be settling into a comfortable life, he has chosen instead to put others first.

Work Is Thriving

Desire Street ( www.desirestreet.org) was buried under 8 feet of water after Katrina, but survived to help rehabilitate 150 homes and rebuild Desire Street Academy, a school for disadvantaged children. Maybe the Heisman had a hand in that.

"We live in an age where people respond to a story and things that are put before them. Even going through tragedies like the hurricane has helped to tell our story. And now people will want to ask questions about Tim Tebow, so I'm back in the paper and I get a chance to tell them about Desire Street. We're still at it. We're still grinding."

He'll be in New York for the trophy presentation Saturday, but then he'll be back at it - raising money, recruiting volunteers, changing lives one hug at a time.

There's a lot to do. The Ninth Ward in New Orleans, where the ministry got its start, has far from recovered. Wuerffel just helped launch a church in the adjacent Eighth Ward and has helped the work of remodeling apartments so people coming back to the city would have a place to go.

"I feel so blessed that I've been able to use the success I have as a football player to do more important work in life. Being successful and winning the Heisman Trophy has helped," he said.

"It certainly has affected my life, crazy in some ways but very positive in others. It has really helped me to be a good advocate for Desire Street Ministries and to help the children and the folks of New Orleans after the storm."

Football? Just a game.

The Heisman? Just a trophy.

Making a difference is something really worth winning.

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