Orange and Blue Hue » Coach, It’s Okay to Toot Tebow’s Horn

Coach, It’s Okay to Toot Tebow’s Horn

Heisman I’ve been harboring a secret feeling of frustration, as yet unvoiced. I saw someone put it into words on, of all places, an FSU blog.

Scalp ‘Em writes:

I get it… football is a team sport… but when you’re hounded by reports about Tim Tebow’s Heisman potential, give the kid a little bit more support. The SunSports postgame press conference was amusing, when Urban was all too happy to talk about everything but Tim-may winning a Heisman. Why not say something like, “The stats speak for themselves, or of course I think he’s had the best season.”

If Tebow really is Superman, there’s no reason to think he’d slack even if Coach Urban Meyer proclaimed him great.

Well, yeah. What’s so wrong about saying just a few positive words about your Heisman candidate quarterback?

Urban Meyer gets a lot of credit for an innovative offense and making a football program click on all cylinders. He’s the “Star Wars” foil to Phil Fulmer’s “Deliverance”. An energetic young coach who seems to have all the answers both on the recruiting trail and on the football field.

But he isn’t often recognized for the “old school” aspect of his personality. Make no mistake about it, there’s a lot of Woody Hayes and Earl Bruce built into Meyer’s football DNA.

Meyer has been asked for the past month about the “H”-word and Tim Tebow. And his answer has always been to shrug it off, talk about the fact that Tim Tebow couldn’t be Tim Tebow with his supporting cast, etc.

Which is true, of course. Absolutely true. And I really don’t have any problem with that… but after whipping FSU, after completing your regular season, with a bowl game at least a month away? Just what’s the harm of tooting Tebow’s horn once or twice?

The closest Meyer would come to endorsing the Heisman talk was to say that “If I had the number one draft pick, I like who I’ve got” or somesuch.

It’s not like Tebow’s the kind of player who would let it get to his head.

And surely his teammates want him to win the award.

This is one area what you don’t need to be a curmudgeon anymore, Coach. No one will think poorly of you for saying your quarterback is the best in the country. He is — it’s quite obvious.

As a member of Football Writers of America, I regularly receive promotional packages from schools pushing their candidate. Early in the season I received packages from Rutgers (Ray Rice) and Arkansas (Darren McFadden). Two weeks ago I received a nice mailer from Mizzou touting their Heisman Hopeful, Chase Daniel. At Florida, meanwhile, we do nothing?

Times have changed. Student-athletes need to keep doing what they’re doing — playing well and making the grades. The SID and his crew, however, can feel free to start promoting their candidates (so says Heisman Pundit, aka Chris Huston, former USC Sports Information Director).

And the least our head coach can do is say the words “Heisman” and “Tebow” in the same sentence.

12 Comments so far
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Keep up the good work over here… I check in in from time to time. And thanks for the link back… it’s true… Meyer needs to throw some more support behind Tebow, as much as I hate the though of that award in G’ville.

If you need ammo for the discussion, I wrote up a thorough stat analysis showing that Tim Tebow has been a better passer than Chase Daniel. I used standard QB stats and adjusted for schedule and conference differences.

Just click the link on my name and its at the top.

urban is in fact an old school coach in terms of his mentality toward the team. he would rather praise the team as a whole thab single a player out. noble, but in this case he needs to help timmy out. also the sid needs to start pimping him more. good post

Who really cares? Houston Nutt kind of looked and sounded like a moron touting Run DMc after the LSU upset. I don’t beleive Heisman voters really care which players are endorsed by their coaches. I think everyone knows deep down that Tebow deserves the trophy, and it isn’t even close. If Tebow were a junior or senior, there would be no discussion. The only reason anyone is talking about any other possible candidates is because Tebow is a sophomore. If he does not win it this season, the Heisman is dead to me.

I’m going to break out the bat and give that dead horse a few more whacks. The Heisman lost all of it’s validity to me with Wienke. Granted, it’s fun to see who people vote on as who the best player is, but there should be some guidelines. If a person can’t be too old, a kid can’t be too young to win it. With all the freshmen that are getting playing time, there may be a time in the very near future where they get a serious look. At least as serious of a look as a 28 year old MAN that has already RETIRED from one PROFESSIONAL SPORT.

At the end of the day, I feel Urban and UF should play the game the way others play it. Heck, put up a billboard in times square with Tebow’s stats. That should do.

Maybe he’s afraid that if he toots Tebow’s horn, some players will feel an inferiority complex and team chemistry will fall apart. I can’t blame him.

True enough, but Spurrier backed Danny, and he was and still is revered by teammates and fans alike. I think Tebow falls into that same mold, and can anyone think of a better example of how to be as a person as well as a player than Tim?

I’ve felt the same way over the past month, and it really annoyed me after the FSU game. Our season’s done save for the bowl game and your QB just played almost a whole half of football with a broken hand on the way to a rout of your rival. And you can’t say a few little words of support for him? I’m not saying he needs to go out and campaign his behind for Timmy, but come on! The whole, “If I have the #1 pick of the draft, I kinda like who I’ve got” line isn’t really enough of a supporting statement IMO.

NoleCC: thanks for dropping in. Keep up the good work on your end as well.

Timmy Tebow will win the 07 Heisman but Urban could have done a better job of pitching the young man. If the head coach doesn’t seem to care one way or the other this doesn’t help motivate voters. It’s an intangible to the process and Urban has disappointed. Still, Superman will win this year’s Heisman. Santa Claus believes in Tim Tebow.

Listening Meyer’s half time/post game interviews, Monday morning press conferences and his “show” that is aired on the SUN network makes me want to scream. Coach Meyer has stated that Tim is only a good QB because he has great players around him. That if he didn’t have those players he would be a bad QB. He also said the reason FSU had trouble tackling Tim was because they really didn’t want to, not because of Tebow’s power. He insinuates other play makers are and would be great with or without a stud for QB. This is hogwash. If you agree with him you are delusional also. Not only would Tim improve any NCAA team, he could have lead this years ND team to a winning season, a top 10 ranking and with their schedule a national title. Yes, I totally agree there are numerous outstanding players for the Gators. I mean, WOW! I’ve been impressed with the new talent off the bench almost every week, the latest being Rickerson. IMO the Gators could now beat any team on any field. But to deny that Tebow is a, or even the, key factor in the success they’ve achieved is simply wrong.

The reason Meyer gives for shunning his record breaking QB is that he is against individual awards and wants championships only. Whose fault is it that the Gators will not be playing in a championship game? Well, since at least two of the losses were due to bad coaching/game planning or lack thereof, Meyer only is to blame. However, the head coach seems to unjustly lay the blame on the shoulders of his first year starting QB. Can anyone give a logical explanation for this way of thinking? To viewers who have a clue about human behavior, voice tone and body language, Urban comes across as being extremely jealous of Tim.

Meyer is praised by the media for wrapping up his post game interview in order to rush off to a Recruiting Dinner. His desire to rush on to recruiting is a good thing. However, the timing doesn’t make sense as it came on the heels of his statement that he was not for supporting Tim winning the Heisman. It is a show of ignorance to not realize that Tim winning the Heisman would be a positive stimulus for UF’s recruiting record now and for years to come. A Heisman trophy would not only benefit the football department but the University as a whole. Meyer’s stance on this one issue may do more harm toward recruiting than the benefits of a dozen delectable meals. What will he say to woo recruits at these dinners? Perhaps, “Come to UF and play for a premier football program. Be the nation’s best collegiate player. Except please do not expect any public support from me when you are up for the top award.” Yeah, right, this will certainly draw the masses and cinch the undecided. HUH?

Using the excuse that Meyer has to walk a fine line and tip toe around the the feelings of the other players while keeping the team in sync doesn’t jive. I refuse to believe the team is that childish. In fact, I bet a high percentage, if not unanimously, are all for him winning. If you have followed the Heisman polls from the beginning of the season you know that there has been no other Gator in the running this year. Teammates are not competing with him for the trophy. This fact makes the reason of jealousy among teammates invalid.(According to the Scripps Howard Heisman Poll, Tebow is the only player nationwide that has consistently been in the top 5 of every weekly poll since the season began. Since September 26, he has been in the top THREE.) It is ironic that UF places a lot of weight on GPA’s while at times common sense among the Administration seems to be missing.

Many have stated that the winner of the Heisman race may well be determined by this week’s publicity blitz. This is more true if Missouri wins. Urban could have at least shown subtle support by adding one more TD run for Tim to the play book for Saturday’s game. Tebow would have broken another record and generated more news worthy of headlines. Meyer settled for a tie.

Tebow wining the Heisman based on his playing the game on the field is not the issue. Tim has more than done his part. Coach Meyer’s expertise in coaching is not the issue. Most everyone agrees that he is a GREAT coach. His personality trait that leans toward the avoidance of public displays of emotion is not the issue. Tim Tebow recieving PUBLIC support from his head football coach is the issue. No one is in any way suggesting he make a tacky display of behavior like that of Houston Nutt. However, acknowledgment of support for Tim’s Heisman run in some PUBLIC manner, such as positive pro Tebow for Heisman statements at a news conference, is a must and should have been readily forthcoming for the past several weeks. Meyer needs to have a backbone, stand up straight, look directly at the camera and boldly proclaim that Tebow has earned the Heisman and would receive his first place vote.
Unless the voting is rigged, TIM TEBOW WILL WIN THE HEISMAN THIS YEAR ON HIS OWN MERITS. When he does, as it stands now, Coach Meyer should not take nor be given any credit or praise. Regardless, we all know that Tim will thank Coach Meyer profusely and give him loads of credit. He will never ever harbor ill feelings for Urban’s lack of public support. Why? Because Tim is a better person than I — and most everyone else. He is more faithful, steadfast and true. Thus adding to the reasons why he is highly deserving of college football’s most prestigious award.
GO GATORS! GO TIMMY! TEBOW FOR HE15MAN

Yeah, watching the press conference after the FSU “slaughter” was great right up till Urban was asked about the Heisman, then, not so much. What terrible thing does he think will happen if he says something supportive of Tim Tebow regarding the Heisman. I am not going to repeat everyone elses comments but really, this act is like false humility. Urban, just says the guys a great quarterback, nothing terrible will happen. This isn’t kindergarten.

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