Tim Tebow assists fellow volunteers during Thursday's Food4Kids Backpack Program event in Gainesville.
Tim Tebow -- Gator Gift Who Keeps on Giving
Thursday, September 6, 2018 | Football, Chris Harry
When Tebow found out that Nick Saban had sent some memorabilia to the event, for the former Gator, it turned into a competition.
"It became an us against Alabama thing," Tebow said. "We had to beat them."
And?
Tebow smiled.
"It did pretty well," he said.
Kathie Lee Gifford bid $100,000 for 12 months of it. Tebow will get his Heisman back later this year. By then, who knows how much more money he'll have raised or how many community service hours he will have logged for causes meaningful to him.
Like he did Thursday.
Tebow was in town to join forces with Allstate and lend his time to the Food4Kids Backpack Program of North Florida. Along with several UF coaches (among them Cam Newbauer, Anthony Nesty and Mandee O'Leary), volunteers helped sort and pack donated non-perishable food into backpacks to be delivered on Friday to area students, kindergarten though high school, in need. The kids take the backpacks home for the weekend and return them Monday, so they can be refilled the following weekend.
It was No. 15's first trip to Gainesville in a while — he'll be back Oct. 6 to be inducted in UF's Ring of Honor at halftime of the LSU game at the "Swamp" — and the decision to make the trip was an easy one.
"It felt right. I was grateful for the invitation," Tebow said. "Hearing about everything they're doing is extremely moving. To be able to support it, raise awareness and hug all these people … it's a community that is very near and dear to my heart. When you hear some of the statistics, it's kind of staggering and I don't think people really know how many kids don't eat on weekend or holidays, or just need to feel loved and cared about. It's very meaningful."
Later that night, two other teams will play their SEC openers when No. 25 UF (1-0) hosts Kentucky (1-0) at Spurrier/Florida Field. Tebow was asked what advice he might have for Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks, as far as playing for Coach Dan Mullen, who was offensive coordinator and position coach when Tebow won two national championships and (for now) Kathee Lee's Heisman from 2006-08.
"Trust the system. Don't focus on the pressure. The better you do, the more pressure you'll have. It's not about the numbers put up, it's about leading the team," Tebow said. "He had the opportunity to [throw] five touchdowns [in the opener against Charleston Southern] because that's what the offense presented. It could easily have been five rushing touchdowns in that game."
He wasn't done.
"Focus on leading the offense, taking in what Mullen is going to teach you — first down, second down, third down, blitzes packages all those things that go into the game — and stay out of the press and the media hype," he continued. "Don't worry about what people said about you last year and don't listen to what people are saying about you after one game. It's never as good or as bad as it seems. He needs to remember he's extremely talented. He got a scholarship here for a reason. He can throw the ball. Believe in yourself. Not that you have to show that to the world — show it to your teammates, so that they'll have the fire to play around you and rally around you. I believe that's more important than how well you throw a slant route or jump pass."
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