Tim Tebow: Sports Evangelist

Tim Tebow is sports’ ultimate opportunist. If he wasn’t such a nice guy, he could be easily be labeled a con man or charlatan, but few athletes have ever managed to do more with less.

While most quarterbacks thrill with arm strength, pinpoint accuracy and an ability to read the defense, Tebow gets by with charm, charisma and the ability to read the room.

The finesse started at The University of Florida, where Tebow initially shared quarterback duties with top recruit Chris Leak before taking over the starting job and putting together one of the greatest college careers ever. Tebow won two championships and earned two Heisman finalist nods, winning once and becoming the first sophomore to win the award. His success was due in large part to a roster loaded with pro talent and a scheme tailored to his unique skill-set.

Then came the pros.

Scouts were rightfully pessimistic that Tebow would thrive in the NFL due to his limitations as a passer. Some suggested he try out at different positions and that, regardless of the route he chose, he would be hard-pressed to find a team who would spend a first-round pick on him. Tebow and his handlers stiff-armed the naysayers and were adamant his name would be called in the draft’s opening salvo.

They were right.

The Denver Broncos not only used the 25th pick on Tebow but traded up from the second round to do so. A few notable names Denver passed on to take Touchdown Timmy: Devin McCourtey, Rob Gronkowski and TJ Ward. All three would go on to win Super Bowls with Ward later signing with the Broncos and helping them win Super Bowl 50.

Tebow only lasted two seasons in Denver but both campaigns were filled with his penchant for the dramatic. What he lacked in prototypical quarterback skill he made up for with unflappable confidence and what former teammate Champ Bailey called "infectious" leadership.  Fourth quarter leads weren’t safe during Tebow’s tenure and he famously led Denver to a playoff upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011, the team’s first postseason win since 2005. John Elway’s arrival in the Broncos front office spelled the end of Tebow Time and, despite completing just 47 percent of his passes in 23 games in Denver, the former Gator showed enough promise to convince the Jets to take a chance on him. He attempted just eight passes in his lone season with Gang Green but still managed to earn fliers from Philadelphia and New England. He’d never see the field with either team.

With his football dreams momentarily dashed, Tebow moved to television where his matinee idol likability and knowledge of the game earned him a deal with ESPN as an analyst. Tebow did an adequate enough job with the worldwide leader to earn an extension but he still had designs on stepping back on the field.

With the NFL no longer interested, Tebow tried his hand at baseball. Was Tebow a Bo Jackson-esque talent who had excelled on the diamond in college while dominating on the gridiron? Of course not. He did, however, bitch all-state honors in high school....as a junior....which was the last time he picked up a bat. Despite the inexperience, scouts from all over came out to see The Friar of Finesse try his hand at a new sport. He eventually found a suitor in the New York Mets, a team with the right combination of front office ineptitude and love for big names to be enamored with sports’ saintly spectacle.

Tebow played four seasons across two different minor league levels within the Mets organization. He hit above .223 just once and struck out 347 times in 1,119 plate appearances (or 31 percent of the time). This past February, he “retired” from baseball having never earned a major league call-up.

Fast forward to this spring. Despite being out of the league since 2012 and a massive influx of talent at the quarterback position, Tebow is back in the NFL. Much like he has during his entire career in the spotlight, the soon-to-be 33-year-old’s second chance comes solely because of his innate ability to convince at least one other person he’s worth rolling the dice on. In this case, that person is the one who initially helped Tebow become a main attraction: former college coach Urban Meyer.

Meyer was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars in January after the Jags finished with a league-worst 1-15 record. He had been retired from coaching since 2018 and, much like Tebow in the 2010 draft, was selected over more qualified candidates such as Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and San Francisco 49ers defensive maven Robert Salah. Also like Tebow, Meyer is living off his collegiate accomplishments, having never had a losing season in 17 seasons as head coach as well as winning national championships with Florida and Ohio State. Even though Meyer was poised to take one of the greatest quarterback prospects ever in Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 overall pick, Urban couldn’t resist rekindling the magic with his old flame.

Except this time, Tebow will attempt to resurrect his pro career as a tight end. Yes, the same position scouts had suggested he try out at in 2010 and he turned his nose up at. How much experience did Tebow have as a receiver during his college and pro stints before taking on this new role, you ask? About as much experience as he had playing college baseball before signing with the Mets, which is to say none. Not once did Meyer, the only man willing to give his former prized prospect a second chance, send Touchdown Timmy out to catch passes. Not once was Tebow utilized as a receiver during any of his stints with four different NFL franchises.

And yet, Tebow was handed an opportunity thousands dream of. The same opportunity that still eludes Colin Kaepernick, whose politics and fight for justice have cast him as a distraction while Tebow’s career 75 Quarterback Rating makes him a reclamation project. The Jags’ newest weapon will undoubtedly take media attention away from Lawrence, the reigning No. 1 overall pick and potential franchise savior. That could be a good or bad thing for the former Clemson product depending on what kind of circus Tebow can still draw.

Ultimately, this could all be for nothing. A couple months from now, Tebow’s latest attempt to reclaim the glory days might go up in flames like his previous ventures have and we all got riled up for no reason. The fact that we are even in this position is a testament to his ability to make others believe in him.

No matter how damaged the goods Tebow is selling, he always finds a buyer.