Quite a few people over the last couple of weeks have engaged in a debate over where Tim Tebow's career matches up in history. There are some who say he is the best college football player ever. There are others who say he was good but there are plenty of college football players that were as good or better. I decided to look at a few other players whose names have been thrown around as being in the same company as or better than Tebow and match up their resumes.
Now I myself have a hard time saying he was the best player ever. Maybe its the Gator Hater in me coming out. But one thing I will say is this, the guy's resume is at the top of the list. I used to hate on Tebow a lot, mostly because of how the media built him up to this other worldly status. But over his career I ended up respecting him as a player. And I was one of the people who actually picked the Gators to beat Oklahoma last year in the National Championship game. I know a lot of people will say now that they also picked them but I remember all the chatter back in December about how the Gators wouldn't be able to outscore the Sooners. But in the end the guy led them to victory yet again.
It was pretty much at that point where I admitted how good the guy really is. I don't mean in the way that you will hear announcers talk about him doing no wrong. I mean in terms of how you can just tell the guy is a winner. He busts his ass every play to try to help his team win. He also doesn't make the big mistake that you see from time to time from most quarterbacks. Oh he will fumble and he will throw the occasional interception, but its rare for him to make that big blundr that costs them the game. To me that's the kind of guy you want leading your team, especially when that guy has his physical tools. Gator Hater or not, there is no denying that.
So lets look at a few of the other contenders.
Vince Young: VY threw for 6,040 yards and 44 touchdowns with 28 interceptions in his career at Texas. He also rushed for 3,127 yards for a 6.8 average and 37 touchdowns. He didn't win the Heisman but he did beat USC in his final game to win the National Championship.
Bo Jackson: Bo ran for 4,303 yards in his college career with an SEC record 6.6 yard average and 45 touchdowns for the Auburn Tigers. He won the Heisman trophy in 1985 but he never won a National Championship.
Tommie Frazier: Tommie Frazier compiled a 33-3 record in College as a quarterback at Nebraska. He rushed for 2,263 yards and 36 touchdowns out of a run oriented/option offense. He also threw for 4,007 yards with 47 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He is the only player in college history to be named MVP in three different National Chanmpionship games and he led the Cornhuskers to titles in two of the 3 games. Although many will argue Frazier was good enough to win the Heisman, unfortunately he never came home with the trophy during his time in college. He also missed half of his junior year with a blood clot in his leg.
Now there are other guys out there of course that people could name, and those three guys definitely have very impressive resumes, however lets take a look at what Tebow has done in his career.
Tim Tebow: Tebow has thrown for 8,236 yards with 81 touchdowns versus just 15 interceptions and 51 touchdowns. He has also run for 2,743 yards with 54 touchdowns, an SEC record, with a 4.2 yard average. He has a career completion percentage of just over 65%. He also has won the Heisman, becoming the first underclassman to ever win it, and he has two National Championship rings on the mantle with another one within reach this year.
Now I understand that people are not going to ever agree about who was the best college football player ever. Its just like the age old argument about the greatest boxer ever in the clip. But what I will say is this, if people are going to go off of body of work then Tebow has to be in that conversation at least if he isn't at the top. He has done literally every thing you can do as a player and won all the top honors. There isn't a hole in his resume that anybody can point to and say "well he never did this". That should count for something if you ask me. It also should make a difference that he scored more rushing touchdowns that both Bo Jackson and Tommie Frazier, and his 4.2 yard career average is evidence that they weren't all just 1 yard runs.
I won't even touch on the TD to Int ratio.
Look you don't have to like the guy or the way the media has elevated him to respect what he has done out on those fields every Saturday. And when it comes down to just that Tim Tebow is way up high on the list of college football players. Don't hate me for saying it, the numbers don't lie.
It is what it is.
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