Florida quarterback Tim Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy, edging Arkansas’ running back Darren McFadden by 254 total votes. Tebow finished with a total of 1,957 votes, while McFadden had 1,703. Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan finished a distant third with 632 total votes.
“It’s surreal,” said a beaming Tebow, who got a hug from Danny Wuerffel, Florida’s last Heisman winner as soon as he stepped on the stage. “I’m so thankful and honored. It’s just an overwhelming feeling to be here, and to be honest it hasn’t sunk all the way in yet.”
After a record-setting season that saw Tebow become the first player in Division I history to have at least 20 rushing and 20 passing touchdowns, it’s no wonder that the Gators’ signal caller was able to convince the Heisman Trophy Trust to make him the first underclassman to ever win the award since its inception in 1935.
Tebow was the right call. McFadden and Brennan were excellent, but college football might not see another quarterback rush and pass for 20 touchdowns apiece, unless of course Tebow does it again next year. Some people argue that Tebow’s numbers are a bit misleading since he’s able to call his own number in Florida’s dynamic offense. However, there are tremendous players in dynamic offenses all over the country, but none who rushed and passed for a total of 40 touchdowns. Plus, none of those players eclipsed 40 total touchdowns in a tough SEC, either.
