Tebow Selected As Finalist For Heisman Trophy
Monday, December 7, 2009 | Football
Florida senior quarterback Tim Tebow (Jacksonville, Fla.) was named Monday as one of five finalists for the prestigious Heisman Trophy. He is the first player to be invited to the televised announcement three times, a practice which began in 1982.
Georgia's Herschel Walker finished third in 1980 and as the runner-up in 1981 before claiming the Heisman Trophy in 1982, while Glenn Davis from Army was the runner-up in both 1944 and 1945 before taking home the prize in 1946.
The winner will be announced at the Nokia Theatre in New York's Times Square, Saturday, Dec. 12. The Gators' signal-caller is also a finalist for the Maxwell Award and Davey O'Brien Award presented by Home Depot that will be awarded Thursday night on ESPN. The other four finalists for the Heisman Trophy are running backs Toby Gerhart (Stanford) and Mark Ingram (Alabama), Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
“It's a tremendous honor for Tim to be invited back to the Heisman Trophy presentation in New York City,” head coach Urban Meyer said. “This is a great achievement and he is very deserving of this honor. Tim is a special player whose leadership and character are unparalleled.”
“Having the chance to go back to New York means a lot to me,” said Tebow. “It is a special honor but it wouldn't be possible for me to have this opportunity without my teammates and coaches.”
The 2009 first-team All-SEC quarterback from the Associated Press, Tebow leads the SEC in completion percentage (65.2) and is second in passing efficiency (155.6), lowest interception percentage (1.8) and rushing touchdowns (13) in the league. He is the only player in NCAA history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in a season, with 32 passing and 23 rushing scores in 2007, and ranks first in the SEC's record book for the most career rushing touchdowns. Tebow has thrown for 8,803 yards and 85 touchdowns in his four seasons, while also gaining 2,896 yards on the ground with 56 rushing touchdowns, both SEC records by a quarterback.
In late November, Tebow headlined the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Football Team. The winner of the Academic All-America® of the Year for the second year in a row, he became the first Scholar-Athlete to be named as the Academic All-America® of the Year for University Division Football in two consecutive years.
In addition, Tebow became the first Gator in any sport to earn first-team Academic All-America® honors three-consecutive years and the first football player from the Southeastern Conference to be chosen to the first team three-straight times. He joins Carlos Alvarez as the only three-time Academic All-Americans® in football at Florida, as Alvarez earned first-team recognition in 1969 and second-team accolades in 1970 and 1971.
Tebow is majoring in Family, Youth and Community Sciences and has a 3.66 grade point average. As a sophomore, he was honored as the winner of the Heisman Trophy, the Davey O'Brien Award and the Maxwell Award. A first-team All-American quarterback, Tebow passed for 3,286 yards and threw 32 touchdown passes that season. He also set an NCAA record by rushing for 23 touchdowns.
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