NEW YORK - When quarterbacks normally get down on one knee, the game is about to end.
But when a Pop Warner coach told 11-year-old linebacker Timmy Tebow to kneel down on a field in Jacksonville eight years ago, it marked a beginning.
BI did the drill always with linebackers, especially at that age,C said David Hess, who coached Tebow?s Lakeshore Renegades team on Jacksonville?s Westside. BI put them down on one knee, just trying to develop their upper body strength.C
Then Hess told Tebow to throw.
Tebow reared his left arm back and fired a ball 30 yards downfield.
BHey, this kid should be playing quarterback,C Hess said.
And it began, Tebow?s winding path marked by yards, touchdowns, records and awards.
The next stop comes Saturday night at New York?s Nokia Theater for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.Tebow is expected to become the first underclassman to grab the honor, given to the nation?s most outstanding player.
Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan and Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel join Tebow as the finalists who will be in attendance for Saturday's 8 o?clock announcement.
BIt?s a huge award,C Tebow said. BI?m honored to be a candidate, and to be talked about. To have an opportunity to win it, it?s a big deal. I?m thankful for the opportunity. It?s a dream come true because when I was young, everybody dreams about awards like that.C
Frustrated Jacksonville pee-wee coaches, Florida high school coaches and SEC defensive coordinators can blame Hess for Tebow?s quick ascension.
BA lot of teams in Pop Warner quarterbacks didn?t throw, they just hand off or run,C Tebow said. BHe was actually one that let his quarterbacks at 7, 8 or 9 throw. I knew it was a good fit.C
By the end of his first season, Tebow could heave it 50 yards from one knee.
But he needed a little help with his running game.
In a regional championship against a talent-rich team out of Miami, Tebow lost a fumble near at the opponent?s goal line while going for a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter.
A score could have clinched a trip to the national championship game.
Instead, the Miami team came back to win.
All the way through high school, Tebow recklessly carried the ball out wide of his body.
BIt was a growing experience for Tim,C said Hess, who still jokes about Tebow?s fumblitis, which was cured early on at UF. BHe was more hurt than everyone else. He was devastated about it because he had such a passion for the game. Even at 11 years old, it was a good learning experience for him, and the next year he came out that much stronger.C
His legend and strength grew in those early years so much so that every player on the field wanted a piece of him.
Hess instituted 20-minute hitting drills in practices, and the kids gave Tebow their best shots.
BAll the little kids growing up, that was their rite of passage,C Hess said.
As a 12-year-old, Tebow teamed with current West Virginia cornerback Franchot Allen and Craig James, who went on to play for Louisville, to form the most potent pre-teen backfield within biking distance.
Tebow specifically remembers Allen as his running mate growing up.
They met at an initial weigh-in for a youth league and played together into high school.
BWe had a lot of good times, good memories playing with him,C Allen said. BI wish I could have kept playing with him. He?s a leader on and off the field.C
Allen was amazed from the get-go of Tebow?s abilities.
He recalled two instances in particular.
BIt was fourth-and-2,C Allen said. BHe made an audible. We didn?t even know anything about audibles in Pop Warner. He told me he saw the defensive tackle shift out, and the linebackers moved up like they were going to blitz. It was supposed to be a sweep to me, but he wound up taking it up the middle for 80 yards.C
While in middle school, Tebow suffered a concussion while playing defense on a fourth-down stop.
But he stayed on the field to resume his quarterback duties on the next play.
BHe didn?t know where he was, but he still played,C Allen said. BHe wouldn?t take himself out of the game.C
Like Tebow said, he fit in perfectly with Hess? throwing scheme.
But he would not slide in snugly at his first high school, Jacksonville?s Trinity Christian.
BThey knew that he was a good passer, but they had been running the Wing-T formation for so long that I don?t think (coaches) wanted to mix it up,C Allen said.
Tebow played linebacker, tight end and backed up quarterback Robby Hepler as the Conquerors won a state championship in his freshman season, his first and only year on Trinity Christian?s varsity squad.
Tebow saw the writing on the wall.
Hepler would return for his senior year as the starter.
The team would continue to run heavily since no team in Class A could stop them.
So he left to join a rebuilding movement at St. Augustine Nease High, where Coach Craig Howard ran a spread attack.
Trinity Christian coach Verlon Dorminey was left feeling like Clifton Herring, the infamous high school coach who cut Michael Jordan.
He had let Tebow get away.
BYou hate that, but that?s part of the game,C Dorminey said. BThere?s a lot of coaches that have lost great players for one reason or the other.C
Tebow, who was home-schooled, moved from Duval County to St. Johns County in the spring of 2003 to play for a pathetic Panthers team that had gone 2-8 the year before and had just fired their coach.
But Howard brought a proven background as an offensive guru.
He had experience resurrecting high school programs and success operating pass-heavy schemes at small colleges.
BWe talked about running the spread, no-huddle offense in which the quarterback was the key figure,C Howard said. BWe knew that kind of an offense was what he was looking for.C
Under Howard?s teaching, Tebow and the Panthers improved mightily.
Nease improved to 5-5 in Tebow?s first year, lost in the regional finals in 2004 and won the state title in Tebow?s final year in 2005.
By the end of his career, Tebow had replaced current Florida State quarterback Xavier Lee as the greatest thrower in FHSAA history.
He won Florida?s Mr. Football in 2005 and packed for Gainesville.
BA lot of people were like, 'You?re crazy. Why are you going to Nease? They?re 2-8, 1-9 the year before,?C Tebow said. BI met Coach Howard, and it was a great fit. … . It was a great decision for me.C
Just like his high-school transfer, the transition to college football has gone smoothly.
Tebow spelled Chris Leak as a freshman in helping the Gators to a national championship and took over full-time this year.
While critics complain that he?s only a sophomore and of his three losses, Tebow can point to his extraordinary statistics.
He finished the year with a 177.9 quarterback rating (second in the nation), 3,132 passing yards, 29 scores and a completion percentage of 68.4.
Tebow set himself apart from other solid quarterbacks like Brennan and Daniel with his ability to run through defenses.
He recorded 838 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns.
The coach that created the monster has bought into the success, and we will see on Saturday if enough of the 900-plus Heisman voters are convinced, too.
BWhat is the definition of Heisman? It?s supposed to be a game-changer, the best college athlete,C Hess said. BI don?t see who else can touch him.C
