Tebow balances gridiron life with iron-like faith
CBSSports.com wire reports
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow has the build of a linebacker, the mentality of a coach and the skills to play just about anywhere on the field.
Off the field, he's just as engaged in his Christian faith. Florida's star quarterback spends much of his spare time going on mission trips, working with underprivileged youth and visiting hospitals and prisons.
He even helped perform a few circumcisions in an impoverished Philippines village -- during spring break.
Although some might question his too-good-to-be-true persona, Tebow wants to make it clear that his achievements off the field define him more than his accomplishments on it, where he set all sorts of records running Florida's spread offense as a sophomore
"If people don't believe it, that's fine," Tebow said. "There's always going to be nay-sayers, people that are going to say it's fake. But that's fine because you can't control everybody. But I can control what I do, my attitude, how I approach the situation.
"How I approach the situation is I want to do everything in my power that football gives me to influence as many people as I can for the good, because that's gonna mean so much more when it's all said and done than just playing football and winning championships."
Tebow threw for 3,286 yards and 32 touchdowns last season, ran for 895 yards and 23 scores. He became the first underclassman to accept college football's most prestigious award and prompted Gators coach Urban Meyer to call him "the best quarterback of our era." Instead of basking in the spotlight or trying to hobnob with celebrities following his newfound fame, Tebow went back to work - spreading his message of faith further than ever before.
In March, while many of his teammates, classmates and close friends hit the road for spring break, Tebow traveled to his father's orphanage in the Phillipines. He visited schools and marketplaces in General Santos City, speaking mostly about his faith, and was invited to assist doctors with some medical procedures.
Tebow removed cysts from patients and performed a few circumcisions.
"It was a great experience for me," Tebow said. "It's something I enjoyed doing, I love doing. It's something I'm very passionate about. The reason I do it is because it's more important than football to me. Doing those things, taking my platform as a football player and using it for good, using it to be an influence and change people's lives, that's more important than football to me.
"That's kind of why I do the things, preaching in prisons, doing those different things, trying to take advantage of that platform that God has blessed me with."
Tebow also took similar mission trips to Croatia and Thailand.
His work back home was just as rewarding.
