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Less Equals More For UF's Tebow

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By MICK ELLIOTT

melliott@tampatrib.com

Published: December 13, 2008

Updated: 12/13/2008 12:12 am

NEW YORK - Tim Tebow pulled out a chair Friday afternoon inside room 4249 of the New York Hilton, just a deep post route from the Nokia Theater in Times Square where tonight's Heisman Trophy announcement will be made.

With his back to the vast city below, the Florida Gators quarterback, ready to possibly become only the second player to claim a second Mr. Stiff Arm, positioned himself in the same spot that earlier in the hour fellow candidates Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and Colt McCoy of Texas had taken turns holding during brief media chats.

Outside, under dark and cloudy skies, temperatures hung in the mid-30s. A stiff wind whipped bundled-up pedestrians streaming past store fronts and holiday decorations.

As Tebow took his seat, the blue Florida sweat pants with a Gators logo on the right thigh rose slightly from shoe level, exposing bare feet inside orange-and-blue Crocs footwear.

He really is a tough guy.

"Hey, it's what I wore in," Tebow said.

It has been a whirlwind week, in which fashion took a back seat. Since Saturday's SEC Championship Game victory against Alabama in the Georgia Dome - a pretty good Heisman campaign speech if ever there was one - things have gone nonstop. On Sunday, the BCS Championship Game pairing of Florida and Oklahoma came down. Two days of ESPN-produced awards functions at Disney World followed. Tebow won the Maxwell Award, presented to the nation's best all-around player, for the second consecutive year.

He also had time to visit with the two other Heisman candidates who are part of one of the closest and most-difficult-to-decide votes in the award's history.

"We had dinner together, all the nominees," Bradford said. "It was great. We talked about a lot of stuff. But we talked about music quite a bit."

"We agreed we all like country," Tebow would add.

If only Tebow had recently updated his iPod or could have introduced one of music's newest releases: "Tim Tebow is a Hero."

Loosely based on the network television series "Heroes," the catchy little ditty was written and performed by Ryan Parker and was just made available at ryanparkersongs.com.

"I haven't heard it," Tebow laughed. "It is good?"

Tim Tebow is a hero from way, way far away, He's got awesome superpowers when he takes the field to play, They have known that he was special ever since his day of birth, No, he's nothing like the rest of the guys on the earth.

If Tebow is announced as tonight's Heisman recipient, he will be like only Ohio State great Archie Griffin as a two-time winner of college football's most prestigious individual award.

As has been well-documented, his individual numbers are overshadowed by the fireworks performed by both Bradford and McCoy, but Tebow's total body of work in guiding Florida to the title game has been just as impressive in its own way.

He ought to win another Heisman just like Archie Griffin, And someday he'll have a wife just as hot as Lane Kiffin, Half man, half machine like the first Terminator, Half quarterback, fullback, and whole Florida Gator.

Bradford and McCoy, however, have numbers that in their own right are alien. OU's signal-caller threw for an astounding 4,464 yards, 48 touchdowns and six interceptions. Texas' McCoy threw for about 1,000 fewer yards, but he posted an NCAA-record 77.6 completion percentage with 32 TDs and seven interceptions, all while also serving as his team's leading rusher (576 yards, 10 TDs).

"Growing up, I think every kid has done the Heisman pose at least once," McCoy said.

"I think Tim should share its love."

He could be like Big Ben, yeah, he sure has a shot, and the worse case would be he's the next Mike Alstott, He could stay down in Florida where it's so nice and sunny, Or he could go to the pros for a boatload of money.

The Florida hero finished with yardage numbers (2,515 passing, 564 rushing) that are modest when compared to his competitors, but 28 touchdowns with only two interceptions is an attention-getter. So is Florida's 12-1 record and nine-game winning streak.

"And," said one Heisman voter following Florida's SEC title game win against Alabama, "nobody has more of this." He was patting his heart at the time.

"I think I was a better leader, a better manager, a better runner of the team this year," Tebow said, comparing last year's Heisman season with this year. "I don't think I had to do as much with my own body making the plays, but as far as everything else, the intangibles ..."

Tough vote.

Reporter Mick Elliott can be reached at (813) 281-2534.

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