Tim Tebow biography

Synopsis

After winning the Heisman Trophy as a college sophomore, quarterback Tim Tebow led his Florida Gators to the BCS Championship in 2009 and was drafted 25th overall by the Denver Broncos in 2010, a team he led into the playoffs in the 2011 season.

Early Years

Tim Tebow, the youngest of five children, was born on August 14, 1987, in Makati City in the Philippines to American parents who were there as Baptist missionaries. Tebow was later homeschooled by his mother, who instilled in him the family's Christian beliefs throughout his early years. Those beliefs became a large part of Tebow's life and have often colored the media's coverage of him.

College Football Career

In 2006, Tebow received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida to play for its famed football team, the Gators. He spent his freshman year as a backup, but was named the team's starting quarterback at the start of the 2007 season. That year he won, among other honors, the Heisman Trophy (for outstanding all-around player) and the Davey O'Brien Award (for outstanding quarterback).

Running the "wildcat offense," an unpredictable formation in which the quarterback can be an active rushing threat, Tebow set numerous records in the 2007 season, including the Gators' single-game QB rushing yards (166) and records for SEC season rushing touchdowns (20), career high single-game rushing touchdowns (5), and SEC season total touchdowns (passing and rushing; 55).

In 2008, Tebow led his team to victory in the BSC National Championship game and was named the winner of a slew of athletic awards.

Move to the NFL

Standing 6'3" tall and weighing around 240 pounds, Tim Tebow was referred to by one NFL coach as "the strongest human being that's ever played the position [of quarterback]." He was chosen by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2010 draft and signed a five-year contract to play second string behind Broncos QB Kyle Orton.

After a 1–4 start to the 2011 season, Tebow replaced Orton as the Broncos' starting quarterback. In his first start, he led the Broncos to a come-from-behind 18–15 overtime victory against the Miami Dolphins, after being down 15–0 with less than three minutes left in the game. Tebow led the team to six wins in their next eight games and into the playoffs. The Broncos beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card game of the playoffs before losing to the New England Patriots in the division championship game, ending Tebow’s first season as the Broncos starting quarterback.

A few months after the season came to an end, in March 2012, Tebow was traded to the New York Jets in a firestorm of media attention and scrutiny. There was much debate as to whether he would replace Mark Sanchez as the team's starting quarterback. However, as the football season began, Sanchez remained in the leading position. Tebow only played briefly during the Jets' first game against the Buffalo Bills in September 2012—a pattern that would prove to be consistent throughout the rest of the season.

By the end of the 2012-13 season, he had participated in only 72 offensive snaps with the New York team.

In late April 2013, it was announced that the New York Jets had released Tebow. The team had reportedly not been able to find a trade partner for Tebow from the time the season ended until he was released in the early spring.

Personal Life

Apart from his skills on the field, Tim Tebow is known for his devotion to his Christian beliefs and his charity work. The former is displayed often on the field with what has become known as "Tebowing"—dropping to one knee in prayer with his head resting on one hand. The move is both widely imitated by Tebow fans and widely mocked by others. Whatever the intent behind the fad, Tebowing became a cultural phenomenon in the 2011 football season.

While active in charity work even in college, Tim Tebow founded the Tim Tebow Foundation in January 2010. The faith-based outreach group works with children in need in both the United States and the Philippines, building facilities for sick children, granting wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses and building playrooms in hospitals and orphanages, among other far-reaching charitable works.