Smith & Tebow Named Academic All-District
Thursday, November 6, 2008 | Football
University of Florida senior special teams' standout James Smith (Gainesville, Fla.) and junior quarterback Tim Tebow (Jacksonville , Fla.) were named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First Team on Thursday. Both individuals now advance to the national ballot for Academic All-American accolades.
Smith is pursuing his master's degree in entrepreneurship and owns a 3.48 grade point average during his first semester of graduate school. A three-time Academic All-SEC recipient, he was recently named a semifinalist for the 2008 Draddy Trophy, presented by the National Football Foundation for combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership. Smith is one of two football representatives on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is one of UF's captains. He serves as the long snapper on field-goal attempts, extra points and punts and is a prominent member of the Gators' special teams' forces. This is his first appearance on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team.
The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, Tebow owns a 3.70 grade point average in family, youth and community sciences. The only sophomore ever to win the Heisman, Davey O'Brien and Maxwell Awards, he was a 2007 first-team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American and looks to become just the fourth UF football player to achieve Academic All-America recognition in consecutive seasons (Carlos Alvarez, 1969-71; Michael Gilmore, 1993-94; Danny Wuerffel, 1995-96). Tebow leads the SEC in passing efficiency with a 162.7 rating and ranks third in the league with 229.4 yards of total offense per game. He is tied for first in the conference with 14 passing touchdowns and his team-leading eight rushing touchdowns are tied for third in the SEC. On the campaign, Tebow has 1,569 yards passing and he has gained 266 yards on the ground. In the 49-10 victory over No. 8 Georgia on Nov. 1, his three rushing scores enabled him to pass Emmitt Smith to become the school's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns (39). Earlier this season, Tebow established a school record of 203 consecutive passing attempts without throwing an interception. This is his second-straight appearance on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team and he has been a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Fourth-ranked Florida (7-1/5-1 SEC) will meet Eastern Division rival Vanderbilt (5-3/3-2 SEC) on Saturday night in Nashville. Kickoff will be at 8 p.m. and the contest will be carried live on ESPN2.
2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First Team - University Division
| Position | Name | School | Year | Hometown | GPA | Major |
| Punter | Kirk Konert | Davidson | Sr. | Bolivar, N.Y. | 3.42 | Economics |
| Quarterback | Tim Tebow | Florida | Jr. | Jacksonville, Fla. | 3.70 | Family, Youth and Community Sciences |
| Receiver | Myles Potter | Davidson | Sr. | North Augusta, S.C. | 3.61 | Chemistry |
| Receiver | Kris Durham | Georgia | Jr. | Calhoun, Ga. | 3.42 | Middle School Education |
| Tight End | Ben Wooster | Wake Forest | Jr. | Suwanee, Ga. | 3.57 | Health and exercise science |
| Running Back | Shaun Chapas | Georgia | So. | St. Augustine, Fla. | 3.31 | Marketing |
| Offensive Line | Jamon Meredith | South Carolina | Sr. | Simpsonville, S.C. | 3.70 | Sport and Entertainment Management |
| Offensive Line | Ben Quick | Wofford | Sr. | San Diego, Calif. | 3.61 | Finance |
| Offensive Line | David Menocal | Furman | Gr. | Gainesville, Ga. | 3.42* | Spanish & Political Science |
| Offensive Line | James Smith | Florida | Gr. | Gainesville, Fla. | 3.48* | Entrepreneurship - Grad. School |
| Offensive Line | Dan Pope | Liberty | Sr. | Palm City, Fla. | 3.51 | Business management |
| Defensive Back | Thomas Twitty | Furman | Sr. | Birmingham, Ala. | 3.50 | Health & Exercise Science |
| Defensive Back | Myron Rolle | Florida State | Jr. | Galloway, N.J. | 3.71 | Public Administration |
| Defensive Back | Jake Blackwood | Georgia Tech | Jr. | West Palm Beach, Fla. | 3.93 | Economics/International Affairs |
| Defensive Back | Ryan Greiser | Liberty | Sr. | Sellersville, Pa. | 3.45 | Kinesiology |
| Linebacker | Jacob Rochester | VMI | Sr. | Dallas, Texas | 3.93 | Economics and Business |
| Linebacker | Peter Bakke | Davidson | Sr. | Arlington, Va. | 3.34 | Biology |
| Linebacker | Alex Thompson | UCF | Jr. | Gainesville, Fla. | 3.63 | Accounting |
| Linebacker | Derrick Frasier | Coastal Carolina | So. | Orangeburg, S.C. | 3.55 | Business |
| Defensive Line | Daniel Leagans | Furman | Sr. | Williamston, S.C. | 3.47 | Business Administration |
| Defensive Line | Kevin Richard | Liberty | Sr. | Lynchburg, Va. | 3.40 | Under - Religion, Grad - Biblical studies |
| Defensive Line | Colin Dugan | Liberty | Sr. | Springdale, Pa. | 3.43 | Sport Management |
| Defensive Line | Charles Fiore | Campbell | Jr. | Kernesville, N.C. | 3.45 | Religion |
*-first semester, graduate school
-UF-
