Tim Tebow's time in Gainesville is ticking down.
Three years after stepping on campus as one of the most highly touted recruits ever, the now-senior quarterback has lived up to all the hype, assisting in one national championship and directly leading to another with a Heisman Trophy in between.
He isn't letting up now.
All throughout the summer offseason, Tebow dragged his inexperienced receiving corps out to the practice field to work on every possible game scenario.
The calls and text messages to summon his wideouts came as early as 4:30 a.m. some days.
"He's the kind of guy who will call you once. If you don't answer, he'll call you again. If you don't answer, he'll call you again, call you again and call you again," redshirt senior receiver David Nelson said. "He's a tremendous leader and a tremendous talent, but sometimes you're like, 'C'mon man. You're killing my phone bill.'"
It is a sacrifice Tebow is willing to make to ensure the most hyped team in the country lives up to expectations. The Gators lost 46.7 percent of their receiving yards with the departure of Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy.
This summer was all about working on timing between Tebow and the guys who will now be expected to carry the load, including Nelson and sophomore Deonte Thompson.
"It depends on how much you want to win and what your passion is," Tebow said. "There are no limits. We want to do whatever it takes to win right now."
Sophomore John Brantley, Tebow's backup, summed up the summer workouts with him as "intense."
"He tells me every day he's really intense this summer," Brantley said. "He says this is my last go-around at it, and I wanna do the best I can. He's really pumped up for this season."
While this year's starting quarterback is all set, some emphasis has started to move toward the future with Brantley being the heir apparent to end up under center for UF in 2010.
It started last fall with Tebow taking Brantley with him on his victory laps after games, perhaps because Tebow wasn't sure at that point if he would be back for 2009. The mentoring continued this summer as Tebow dragged Brantley out to his impromptu workouts with the wide receivers.
"Since day one, he's taught me," Brantley said. "When I first got here, he's doing stuff that's blowing my mind, and still he's just teaching me every day because it helps him learn and it helps me learn."
The new addition at quarterback, incoming freshman Jordan Reed, did not have much to say after his first day of practice.
Reed, rated by Rivals.com as the 10th-best dual-threat quarterback recruit, appeared to be under a gag order after quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler spoke to him. It is unclear why, but Reed answered questions on a wide variety of topics with different variations of, "I'm just happy to be here."
Perhaps the freshman was overwhelmed, similar to the feeling Tebow had when he started three years ago. With his final two-a-days underway, the senior reflected on his first one in 2006.
"Just trying to come out here and earn the guys' respect and not look too stupid in front of all the leaders and all the other guys," Tebow said. "Now, being one of those guys, it's funny to be able to watch the freshmen out here try and not look stupid and feel comfortable and feel in."
Now, it's safe to say Tebow feels right at home in Gainesville, and he will be spending plenty of time in the football complex this fall.
He will be taking just one class (he called it a "senior seminar") during his final football season and may rival Meyer's working hours as his college career draws to a close.
"I think we should have to punch our time clocks," Tebow said with a laugh.
