Florida Gators legend Tim Tebow named one of top 25 college QBs of last 25 years

USA Today

4 days ago

It's been more than a decade since Tim Tebow last took a snap for the Florida Gators, but the legend hasn't faded one bit.
In its latest ranking of the 25 best college football quarterbacks of the past 25 years, Sports Illustrated placed Tebow at No. 4 overall–a reminder that few have ever done it better in college football, and no one has ever done it quite like Tebow.
Tebow was the first sophomore to ever win the Heisman Trophy, the first player in NCAA history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in a season and the only quarterback in SEC history to rush for more than 50 touchdowns in a career.
By the time he left Gainesville, Tebow owned five NCAA, 14 SEC and 28 UF records.
Tebow's career totals–9,285 passing yards, 88 passing touchdowns, 2,947 rushing yards, 57 rushing touchdowns–read like something out of a video game.
Gator Nation knows that Tebow isn't just one of the best quarterbacks of the last 25 years–he's the program's gold standard. His fiery postgame speeches, his willingness to run through a wall for his team and his dominance on the field defined an ear when Florida football ruled the sport.
Of course, Tebow isn't the only former Gator to make SI's list. Cam Newton checks in at No. 2 after leading the Auburn Tigers to a national championship and winning the Heisman in 2010.
Newton's time in Gainesville was brief–backing up Tebow before transferring–but it's hard not to wonder what might have been had he stayed.
Here is everything SI's Bryan Fischer wrote about Tebow and why he was one of college football's best quarterbacks in the past 25 years.
What SI said about Tebow
"The lefty sandwiched winning two national titles with the Gators with becoming the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy in 2007. He finished his career with a remarkable 145 total touchdowns—his 57 on the ground were more than Herschel Walker had rushing in his career—and spent a decade as the SEC's career leader in passing efficiency before his 170.8 mark was eventually broken. Though Tebow's persona could at times be divisive, there's little questioning his leadership on and off the field that has to be factored into how he played the position."
SI's top 10 quarterbacks from the past 25 years
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