O&B Notebook: Tebow's Next Chapter, Elam Watch, More Gators Tidbits
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 | General, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — For a guy who just turned 34, Tim Tebow has packed a lot of living into those years.
He's been a prized quarterback recruit, Heisman Trophy winner, two-time national champion, first-round NFL draft pick, TV analyst, professional baseball player, retired baseball player, NFL tight end hopeful, and earlier this week, a former NFL tight end hopeful.
Tebow moves fast. Consider he retired from baseball only six months ago and soon afterward pursued an opportunity to revive his NFL career with former Gators coach Urban Meyer in Jacksonville. Tebow's quest attracted the usual headlines, supporters and naysayers, but he went about his work determined as always.
Tim Tebow departs the field in Saturday's preseason loss to Cleveland as Jacksonville head coach Urban Meyer stands nearby.
Meyer said cutting Tebow was the "right thing to do" because at 34, and with no special-teams experience, "we knew it was an uphill battle for Tim."
Tebow handled the transaction with grace and class.
"I never wanted to make decisions out of fear of failure and I'm grateful for the chance to have pursued a dream,'' he wrote on Twitter. "Thank you to the Jaguars organization and everyone who has supported me in this journey."
So, who knows what's next?
Hold on, an email just popped in announcing Tebow has signed with Clean Juice, which bills itself as the first and only national USDA-certified organic juice bar franchise, as national brand ambassador. He's already off the couch and back at work.
For now, what we know is that if Tebow's days as a professional athlete are over – and that appears likely unless he transitions into an MMA fighter over the weekend – he stands as one of the most unique and genuine megastars of our time. He reached the pinnacle of his athletic powers while with the Gators, helping Florida win national titles in 2006 and 2008. He won the Heisman in 2007 and led UF to a perfect regular season in 2009.
Of course, Tebow wasn't finished, leading the Broncos to that memorable overtime playoff win over the Steelers in his first stint in the NFL, and over the next decade, living a high-profile existence split between TV jobs, NFL comebacks, a baseball career, marriage and as head of the charitable Tim Tebow Foundation. Tebow started his foundation in 2010 with a mission "to bring faith, hope and love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need."
Tebow is still a young man, just not in the world of professional sports. His global reach through his philanthropic endeavors dwarf his potential impact as a reserve tight end with the Jacksonville Jaguars. On his birthday Saturday, Tebow posted a message on social media thanking fans for their support (see above).
We should thank Tebow, too. It's been thrilling to watch him provide so many great moments as an athlete. More importantly, it has been refreshing for someone of his stature to live up to the hype as a person. If you root against him, well, that's your problem. In many ways, it feels like the past 15 years will be viewed one day as his opening act. And that could have a greater impact than anything Tebow ever did on a football or baseball field. ELAM TIME
In his ranking of college football's most 25 important players for 2021, ESPN.com writer Bill Connelly has Gators junior cornerback Kaiir Elam at No. 11. Kaiir Elam
In his intro, Connelly writes: "This piece is about the star turns – more specifically, the players who could most dramatically impact the college football season and its national title race with such a turn."
Think LSU quarterback Joe Burrow in 2019.
Elam is the only UF player on the list but is not the only key player in the SEC East. Georgia quarterback JT Daniels is No. 1 for the second consecutive year. Daniels didn't become Georgia's starter until after the Gators' 44-28 win over the Bulldogs in Jacksonville last season, so the Elam-Daniels matchup in the passing game is one to watch when the teams meet Oct. 30.
Elam has taken on more of a leadership role in preseason camp after the Gators lost their final three games in 2020, spoiling an 8-1 start and any chances of the program's first College Football Playoff appearance.
"Me and [senior] Trey Dean have tried to make sure everybody is on the same page,'' Elam said. "Me coaching up the young guys, I feel like that's very important. I feel like if I don't bring them along, we can't call us a DBU if just one of us is doing good."
LEON LEAVES
Gators assistant men's golf coach Mark Leon has a new title: head coach.
Leon has been named men's golf coach at Florida Atlantic. The hire was announced Wednesday by FAU athletic director Brian White.
Leon spent four seasons as an assistant coach under Gators head coach JC Deacon, a longtime friend and colleague of Leon's.
"It's a dream come true to be able to finally lead my own program,'' said Leon, who was an assistant at Penn State prior to Florida. "A special thank you to JC Deacon for everything you have done for me. Your friendship means more than I'm able to capture in words, and your drive and enthusiasm for coaching have challenged me every day to be better."
Congrats and good luck to the newest Owl.
HONORING HURSE
The passing of 90-year-old David Hurse late last month earned notice in the local media. I had never heard of Hurse, but after a couple of emails from readers informing me of his death, I did some research. David Hurse
What I found was a man who long after being a barefoot kicker for the Gators in the 1950s, Hurse became a legend at Bradford High in Starke. The school named its football stadium after Hurse in 2000.
He led the Tornadoes to back-to-back state championships in 1965 and '66, retiring in 1990 with a legacy that has endured through the decades since.
How much does Hurse still mean to those in Bradford County?
"You can't talk to anyone in this town who doesn't know who he is,'' Brian Tomlinson, Bradford's current head coach, told the Florida Times-Union. "Truly a godsend to this community."
Hurse won 193 games as Bradford's head coach from 1962-90 and directed a 29-game unbeaten streak during the program's emergence as a state power in the mid-1960s.
A glimpse of Hurse's time with the Gators ...
A clipping of an AP story in the Tallahassee Democrat on Sept. 21, 1952. (Source: Newspapers.com)
EXTRA, EXTRA
Former Gators running back CiatrickFason, whose 1,267-yard season in 2004 ranks sixth on the school's single-season list, was recently named head coach at Fletcher High in Jacksonville ... The Florida Rising Stars Foundation is holding a raffle for a chance to win a Steve Spurrier-signed Gators football helmet, an official Florida football and a copy of Spurrier's book "Head Ball Coach." For more information on the raffle and the Florida Rising Stars Foundation, check out this link … Former Gators and NFL tight end Ben Troupe has a new book out called "Uncommon and Unfinished." Click here for more information on Troupe and the book ... I'm late to this, but former Gators nose guard and Tampa attorney Douglas A. Wright passed away in May. He played at Florida from 1979-81 and reportedly could bench-press more than 500 pounds. You can read Wright's obituary here and a news story about his death here.
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