Part football legend, part sea turtle and a little bit of alligator, Tebow Turtle marks territory claimed by the Gators in last year's UF-Georgia game.
The roughly 5-foot-tall, fiberglass statue stands outside the Veterans Memorial Arena, about two blocks from Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, where the Gators and Bulldogs fight out their heated rivalry every fall.
It features Tim Tebow's signature "Phil 4:13" under its eyes, which he wore when the Gators rolled the Bulldogs 49-10 in 2008, and an alligator tail to represent UF's mascot.
"We really just wanted to celebrate Tim," said Bonnie Upright, the coordinator for Turtle Trails, the organization which placed the statue. "This town loves him."
However, Tebow Turtle won't be around to greet Gator fans this October.
"He will be gone before the Florida-Georgia game, but if not, I would probably move him anyway," Upright said, fearing that the statue may be vandalized.
The statue is one of 24 turtles placed around Jacksonville as part of Turtle Trails, a fundraiser for Jacksonville organization Child Guidance Center that provides mental health services to children and families.
In March 2008, individuals and companies could sponsor a turtle for $5,000. The cost paid for production and artist fees, she said.
This October, Turtle Trails will auction off the turtle statues and all proceeds will go to the Child Guidance Center.
Several turtles did not receive sponsorships, Tebow Turtle among them.
But Upright decided to have one of the extra turtles designed like Tebow because she knew it would do well at auction, she said.
"We knew that a Tim Tebow turtle would generate a lot of attention," she said.
Upright contacted the Tebow family and made sure that they were OK with the statue before having it made.
Justin Rose, and artist from Macclenny, Fla., was approached to design the turtle, and he accepted without hesitation, he said.
"I admire Tebow because of the kind of person that he is and the values that he has," Rose said.
To prepare for the project, Rose said that he read several versions of Tebow's biography and referenced pictures of the quarterback's cleats, alligator tails and turtle faces.
He worked for 14 hours a day for the first eight days and finished after about a month. He estimated the project took about 200 hours.
"When it was gone, it was almost like trying to drop an addiction," he said.
Ashley Beck, a UF graduate and event coordinator for the city of Jacksonville, said she was impressed by the authenticity of the details on the turtle.
"I think it's really neat how they incorporated everything," she said.
