CBSSports.com Preseason All-Americans | Heisman Hopefuls
Listen up, Gator Nation. This is going to hurt a little: It's better if your boy Tim Tebow doesn't win a second consecutive Heisman. Better for him, better for you.
Trust us on this. Not scoring 55 touchdowns, not diving into the line all those times, not carrying the ball an average of 16 times per game means Florida will be a better team this season. Less of Tebow is more this season considering Florida has perhaps its best set of playmakers ever.
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| When Tim Tebow runs, he hopes he doesn't get 'hit the wrong way.' (US Presswire) |
"I'm running," said the CBSSports.com preseason All-American quarterback, envisioning a scenario for what might be the new Tim Tebow in 2008. "Maybe it's not a great decision to hit somebody and fight for two more yards. Maybe I should just get down."
Wow, that's quite a proclamation for a guy who would rather lower his shoulder than lower his standards for greatness.
"I didn't say slide," he added. "I said, get down."
OK, so there's wriggle room in Tebow's makeover. His durability has been a main topic of conversation since he started taking on linebackers two years ago. They didn't call him Superman for nothing. That doesn't mean college football's spiritual Man of Zeal is indestructible.
"Was I 100 percent (healthy all the time)? No," Tebow said. "Was I able to still play and compete? ... You tell me one guy who was 100 percent at the end of the season."
Everyone gets injured. Few carry the hopes and dreams of a program so significantly on every snap.
If Florida wants its Twilight Zone moment all it has to do is remember Oregon's Dennis Dixon. The Ducks' quarterback was on a Heisman track before he tore up his knee late in the season. You could almost see the air go out of the Oregon sideline when Dixon went down at Arizona. You saw the air go out of the season as the Ducks finished 1-3. Do-do-do-do, Do-do-do-do
The yards and touchdowns are still out there to be had for Florida in 2008. Wouldn't it benefit everyone if the quarterback didn't subject his shoulder (bruised against Georgia last season), hand (broken against Florida State) and rest of his body to such punishment?
"That's a little part of me," Tebow said. "That's a little part of my nature."
His play in Urban Meyer's spread makes him as close to a "spinner back" in the old single wing as there has been in the modern era. Meyer harkened back to Bowling Green's Josh Harris, his first great quarterback as a head coach. Harris ran for more than 2,000 career yards, Meyer said, "running single-wing plays like we (do) at times here at Florida ... To be able to have a quarterback like that, that's a threat."
Josh Harris, though, didn't have Tim Tebow's toys around him. We're not saying Tebow has to hide in a closet. He just needs to share. It's OK, isn't it Gator Nation, if he hands off more and maybe finishes second or third in the Heisman voting?
"It's something we can do," Tebow said, "get more guys involved."
Despite the loss of tight end Cornelius Ingram, the Gators are still pretty damn lethal. Rainey, Demps, Moore and Southern California transfer Emmanuel Moody could each start at tailback for almost any other program. At Florida they're competing for touches not only against each other but also their quarterback. That's why Meyer would like to see a running back leading the team in rushing, at least at times. Not counting Harvin (essentially a receiver who lined up in the backfield), that occurred only twice last season.
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"I hope that happens," the coach said. "This is the best we've felt at running back. This is our fourth season and it's not very comparable as far as work ethic, attitude and work level at tailback."
Florida won a national championship two years ago with a running game that was No. 38 nationally, the lowest ranking for a BCS champion since 2000. In 2006, Meyer and offensive coordinator Dan Mullen inserted Harvin as a runner and used Tebow as a short-yardage specialist who became so much more.
Tebow evolved into such a threat that his plunge fakes at the line sucked in linebackers and opened up the offense even further. Last year, the running game improved to No. 23. Tebow ran or passed on 560 of the team's 848 offensive snaps (66 percent). That's the highest ratio of the top five Heisman vote getters.
"Sometimes you look back and say, 'I ran the ball 27 times (against Mississippi)?' That's a lot," Tebow said. "It's the situation, it's the moment. You're never thinking it. It's, 'What can I do to win?'
"Sometimes you make it and you get lucky and you won't get hit the wrong way. Sometimes you might be tweaked or hit the wrong way. That's something you might have to work around."
In other words, it's Tebow's Heisman to lose. For Gator Nation, that's a good thing.
Handicapping the Heisman field:
The favorites
1. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida: The first sophomore to win the award leads the fastest offense alive. Hard to believe Superman has two seasons left (maybe). Should Archie Griffin be getting nervous?
2. Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State: Speed wasn't a problem for Beanie against LSU. He busted a 65-yard touchdown run and torched the Tigers for 146 yards in the BCS title game.
3. Patrick White, QB, West Virginia: Needs 784 rushing yards to become the leading quarterback rusher of all time. Bill Stewart would like him to become more of a refined passer.
4. Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia: The pride of New Jersey was Georgia's best freshman runner since Herschel Walker.
5. Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri: What do you do after throwing 33 touchdown passes and finishing fourth in Heisman voting? Win the Big 12.
6. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma: Inspiration for both the Cherokee and Sooner nations. With the next Adrian Peterson to help (DeMarco Murray), Bradford should become more dangerous.
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| Percy Harvin is part of the crowd that can take some of the load off Tebow. (Getty Images) |
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8. Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech: Receivers don't usually win the Heisman. Receivers don't usually catch almost 2,000 yards worth of passes either.
9. Percy Harvin, ?, Florida: Is he a tailback? Is he a receiver? Does it matter? Percy is still the Gators' best home-run threat.
10. LeSean McCoy, RB, Pittsburgh: When Tony Dorsett gives his seal of approval, big things must be ahead. McCoy set the Big East freshman record with 1,328 yards last season.
11. Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech: Harrell will blow the numbers out again. Will he and Crabtree steal votes from each other?
12. Joe McKnight, RB, USC: If McKnight can get past his current injuries, he should have a breakout season in a crowded USC backfield.
13. Todd Reesing, QB, Kansas: In a conference of great quarterbacks, Reesing tends to be overshadowed. None of the Big 12 signal callers won a BCS bowl last season, though.
Longshots
14. Jeremy Maclin, WR/KR, Missouri: He is the CBSSports.com All-American kick returner, but he could have made it as a receiver or punt returner.
15. Juice Williams, QB, Illinois: Should become more of a dual threat as he becomes a better passer.
16. James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State: It could happen. Laurinaitis should be starting somewhere in the NFL.
17. Rey Maualuga, LB, USC: If voters could feel just one of his tackles they would be convinced.
18. Armanti Edwards, QB, Appalachian State: Ask Michigan if Edwards is a candidate. One of only six Division I players to throw for 2,000 and rush for 1,000 in a season.
Here are my preseason top 10 from last season: 1. Darren McFadden, Arkansas; 2. Steve Slaton, West Virginia; 3. John David Booty, USC; 4. Brian Brohm, Louisville; 5. Patrick White, West Virginia; 6. Colt Brennan, Hawaii; 7. Ian Johnson, Boise State; 8. Ray Rice, Rutgers; 9. Michael Hart, Michigan; 10. P.J. Hill, Wisconsin.
