Tim Tebow can't go a day without seeing himself or his team mentioned on TV, but he's not tuning in for the talk of Florida winning a third title in four years or his bid for a second Heisman Trophy and college football immortality.
Spare him the glowing tributes to his character, leadership or athletic ability.
He's not interested in any of that. He'll only tune in to see the doubters.
"I usually don't watch anything - just NFL stuff - but sometimes I'll watch it as motivation if it's sort of a negative thing," Tebow said. "I'm not a big reader of myself or watching it, but some things I will because I know it motivates me and it will irritate me."
So go ahead and doubt Tebow. He'll work that much harder to prove you wrong.
He showed he could run through defenders as a freshman, throw over them as a sophomore and win the big games as a junior. There are only two things left for his senior season: displaying his NFL potential and leading the Gators to an undefeated season.
One of the Greats?
The only problem with Tebow's motivational formula is that he isn't leaving much room for criticism.
In three years, Tebow has completed a school-record 65.8 percent of his passes for 6,390 yards and 67 touchdowns. He's the Southeastern Conference's all-time leader in passing efficiency (173.8) and has rushed for 2,037 yards and 43 touchdowns, also a UF record.
In all likelihood, he will break SEC career marks in yards gained, touchdowns and rushing touchdowns this season, and he's a likely candidate for a second Heisman and third Maxwell Award.
Those numbers, combined with a 22-5 record as a starter, his off-field persona and the potential for another big year, have led some to crown him as one of the best college football players ever.
"If he would do either one, or maybe both, I think he'll go down as one of the great leaders and great stories in college football history," ESPN analyst and former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz said. "The Ernie Davises and Archie Griffins - although Archie didn't win a national championship - some of the people who really accomplished great things."
That hole in Griffin's resume is exactly where UF coach Urban Meyer believes his player stands apart from the rest.
"I always think the quarterback's job, the point guard's job, the Michael Jordan's job, is to win," Meyer said. "Tim has the label of a winner. He won a state championship in high school, he's done tremendous in college so far, and he has another year left. Without question, he'll be in that conversation."
Tebow shies away from such talk.
His competitive nature gives him a desire to be the best, but he gets visibly restless and uncomfortable when the subject is brought up, doing his best to deflect it.
"I'd just rather not hear about that until I'm done with college and everything," he said. "I just want to go work and get isolated away from everything else. It's definitely humbling, and it's an honor when people talk about it or write something, but I don't want to hear it."
Fueling His Fire
What Tebow does want to hear are reminders of the Ole Miss game last season and the concerns that he won't make a good pro, though he says the latter has been generated more by reporters than by coaches.
It was clear how badly Tebow wanted an undefeated season during his emotional speech after the loss to the Rebels, and it's clear now that the game still bothers him.
"It does, especially when you hear, 'How did you feel about that 4th-and-short when you got stuffed?'" Tebow said, referring to a question from earlier in the interview. "It definitely does. A comment like that will even motivate me more because I get irritated about that."
Although the Gators ran roughshod over opponents following the upset and attributed some of their success to the wake-up call, Tebow can't look back on it without being bothered.
"It's cool the change we made from there, but I think if you ask (Brandon) Spikes, the Pounceys or anyone, they'll still say it irritates them," Tebow said. "It's a good thing, but it's never a good thing. That loss is still frustrating to everybody although a lot of good came from it.
"That's one of the good things about our team though - just how upset and mad we get about something like that. …We still use that today in practice."
The more Tebow thinks about that game, the more determined he is to prevent it from happening again.
And if he can lead the Gators to their first-ever undefeated season, there will be little doubt as to his place in the program's history.
