Tim Tebow to Showcase Skills in Mobile
Last Updated on Saturday, 09 January 2010 23:59 Written by University of Florida Media Saturday, 09 January 2010 23:54
would attend the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl by officially accepting an invitation to the senior showcase event, officials announced today. The former Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion is the most decorated player to ever play in the Senior Bowl. Kickoff for the January 30th event is scheduled for 3pm (CT) in Mobile’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The game and all practices will be televised by the NFL Network.
Tebow, a fan favorite across the nation, is arguably the greatest college football player ever. He will head to Mobile fresh off the best
performance of his career--a BCS record 533 total yards of offense (482 pass, 51 rush) on 31 of 35 passing in a Sugar Bowl victory over
Cincinnati. Voted the game’s Most Outstanding Player, Tebow accounted for four touchdowns in the win (3 pass, 1 rush), to improve his mark as a starter to 35 and 6. He also set a Sugar Bowl record by completing his first 12 passes.
“One of my reasons to play (in the Senior Bowl) was because I love competing and I love what it takes to be a football player. There are a
lot of things in training that you do but you are not playing football. This (the Senior Bowl) is the only thing where you are playing football
and showing football skills. That’s why I think something like the Senior Bowl is very important,” Tebow said.
“Coach (Tony) Dungy told me it is also a great opportunity to build relationships that you will have for the rest of your life,” Tebow
continued. “He told me that he met Herm Edwards at the Senior Bowl. It’s going to be a time to compete and have fun but also a time to
build relationships and have a great week as well.”
Tebow’s résumé is as long as it is impressive. He was the first sophomore to ever win the Heisman Trophy Award, a two-time winner of the Maxwell Award (Collegiate Player of the Year) and the owner of numerous NCAA, SEC and school records. His trophy case is filled with every major college football award in existence---Heisman (2007), Maxwell (2007, 2008), Manning (2008) and O’Brien (2007) and he is the only player in NCAA history to ever rush and pass for more than 20 touchdowns in a single season (2007).
“I’m very excited,” Tebow said of playing in the Senior Bowl. “It’s something where I get an opportunity to play with a lot of great players
and get coached by a lot of great coaches in the NFL and an opportunity to work in an NFL system and do things that a lot of people haven’t seen me do like go under center and take the drops and be in a pro style system.”
As a senior, Tebow was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year and a first team All-SEC selection (AP & Coaches) after throwing for 2,895 yards and 21 touchdowns. He added another 910 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. He was a second team All- American (AP, Walter Camp, Sporting News) and for the third consecutive year a Heisman Trophy finalist. He also took home the William V. Campbell Trophy (formerly known as the Draddy Trophy), which goes to college football’s top scholar-athlete.
“The NFL has been a dream of mine since I was a little boy and I’m now getting close to capturing that dream and I want to do everything I can to show that I can play quarterback.”
For his illustrious career, the left-handed quarterback threw for 8,803 yards and 85 touchdowns and rushed for an additional 2,947 yards and 57 touchdowns. He helped the Gators win two SEC championships and was part of the winningest senior class in conference history.
“Tim is quite possibly the best college player isport,” Senior Bowl President and CEO Steve Hale said. “More important than that, he’s an incredible person. When I met with Tim and his family it became very clear why he is so successful. He has a tremendous support system and we are excited that he’ll be bringing his talents here to Mobile.”
“We had an opportunity to meet with Steve (Hale) and to get to know him and pick his brain about the game and the opportunity and it really helped me and encouraged me and got me excited about playing with the great players and coaches. It’s the one opportunity to show coaches that you can play quarterback and do different things,” Tebow said.
Tebow is the first quarterback officially announced to the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl roster. He will play on the South squad later this
month which will be coached by the Miami Dolphins.
“It’s truly a blessing to work with their (Dolphins) staff led by Coach Sparano and Coach Parcells. Those are two great coaches and I’ve heard nothing but great things about their program all the way down to the interns and GAs and how they run it and I look forward to the
opportunity to working with them.”
The Jacksonville, Florida native is incredibly active off the field as well. In 2009 alone, he performed nearly 700 hours of community service
and regularly preaches to inmates at prisons and takes mission trips to the Philippines with his family.
Tickets for the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl are currently available for purchase at the Senior Bowl ticket offices (151 Dauphin Street and
inside Bel Air Mall), select Regions Bank locations, online at www.seniorbowl.com or by calling (251) 432-4109.
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