Tag: Tim Tebow (Page 25 of 32)

      Top 10 Heisman Hopefuls Version 1.0

      August 20, 2009 /

      Every couple of weeks during the 2009 season, I’ll rank the top 10 Heisman Trophy candidates based on their chances of winning college football’s most prestigious award. Players will either rise or fall in the rankings based on their performances throughout the year.

      Below is Version 1.0. Obviously with no games being played yet, I’m mostly projecting with this top 10. These types of rankings always stir up a lot of debate, so I encourage readers to tell me which players should be rated higher or lower. I’ll update the list after the first week or two of the season.

      Without further ado…

      1. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
      After Sam Bradford edged Tebow out in last season’s Heisman race, some will argue that the Oklahoma QB deserves to be at the top of this ranking. But I’m giving the slight edge to Tebow right now after he absolutely destroyed the competition in the second half of last year. Florida will incorporate the no-huddle into their offense this season, which should only benefit Tebow’s style of play and give him even more scoring opportunities than he already had. Outside of Florida having to replace tackles Phil Trautwein and Jason Watkins, there’s little reason to believe that Tebow will take a step back in 2009 and considering the Gators are once again national title contenders, he should be the front-runner to win this year’s Heisman.

      2. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
      After throwing for 4,720 yards and 50 touchdowns last season, I don’t doubt that the reigning Heisman winner could be even better in 2009. But the Sooners’ offensive line is a major question mark entering this season with the losses of Phil Loadholt, Duke Robinson, Jon Cooper and Brandon Walker. That’s a lot of change in one offseason and while OU should light up the scoreboard once again, I could see Bradford taking a backseat to Tebow when the final Heisman results are tallied.

      Continue reading »

      College Football

      USA Today Preseason Polls: Florida No. 1

      August 7, 2009 /

      The USA Today Coaches’ Top 25 college football coaches’ poll has been released and to no surprise, Florida ranks No. 1.

      Here’s the top 15 (via ESPN.com):

      1. Florida
      2. Texas
      3. Oklahoma
      4. USC
      5. Alabama
      6. Ohio State
      7. Virginia Tech
      8. Penn State
      9. LSU
      10. Mississippi
      11. Oklahoma State
      12. California
      13. Georgia
      14. Oregon
      15. Georgia Tech

      The most intriguing team to watch this year in the top 15 is Ole’ Miss. The have a solid quarterback in Jevan Snead a true playmaker in Dexter McCluster, a couple of quality receivers and several capable rushers. But the one thing that could keep the Rebels from taking that next step is the play of the offensive and defensive lines. They lost two significant pieces of both lines last year when Michael Oher and Peria Jerry were drafted into the NFL. Can they replace both of those players and make some noise in the SEC?

      Another team to at least keep an eye on this year is North Carolina, who is ranked 20 in the preseason poll. They lost receivers Hakeem Nicks and Brandon Tate to the NFL, but their offense is still chockfull of potential and their defense was incredibly opportunistic last year. I’m not saying the Heels will challenge for a national title this season, but they’ll be competitive.

      The Heisman race is going to be fun to watch all year, too. Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and Terrelle Pryor hold the edge going into the season, but watch out for sleepers like Evan Royster, Jonathan Dwyer and Jahvid Best.

      College Football

      Spurrier the one who didn’t vote Tebow All-SEC

      July 24, 2009 /

      One of the greatest unsolved crimes in sports history now has a resolution. We can now put our children to bed at night without this shroud of mystery hanging over our heads and breathe a sigh of relief knowing that a major villain has been outed for his crime against humanity.

      That’s right, folks: We now know the one person who didn’t vote for Florida’s Tim Tebow as All-SEC quarterback. And it wasn’t that punk Lane Kiffin, nor was it that weasel Bobby Petrino either. Hell, it wasn’t even Nick Saban, who can’t step one foot inside Baton Rouge or Miami without somebody wanting to shove a first down marker where the sun don’t shine.

      Nope, it was Steve Spurrier…well, kind of. Apparently it wasn’t actually him, but the director of football operations he had vote for him. Whoops.

      Spurrier explained that his director of football operations had filled out the ballot and brought it in to him. Spurrier said he glanced at it, signed off on it, and then realized his mistake much later.

      The ballot submitted to the SEC from South Carolina had Mississippi’s Jevan Snead as the first-team quarterback, and not Tebow.

      “I take full responsibility,” he said, emphasizing that he believed Tebow to be one of the best quarterbacks in Florida history. “I’m embarrassed about it, I feel badly about it … I apologize to Tim Tebow.”

      SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom confirmed to ESPN.com that Spurrier called within the past 24 hours and asked that his ballot be changed to include Tebow as the first-team quarterback. Spurrier told Bloom that his initial ballot, with Snead as the first-team quarterback, was a mistake.

      If you couldn’t tell by the sarcasm I used at start of this article, I don’t think this is a big deal. It’s just a preseason honor and I highly doubt Tebow is losing sleep over this. It’s nice that Spurrier tried to correct the mistake and owns up to it, but again, this is hardly worth getting upset about.

      But perhaps an underlying issue (and Pat Forde touched on it in the ESPN article) here, is that these coaches continue to let other people in their programs vote for things like all-conference nominations and even the USA Today Coaches Poll. So you have a director of operations having a stake in which teams could potentially play for a national title, and not the coaches themselves.

      This is just reason No. 1,900,340,000 why the BCS system is an absolutely joke. We need a playoff.

      By the way, how does Jevan Snead feel right about now? If I’m him I’m like, “A mistake? Gee, thanks Spurrier – tell me how you really feel you son of a bit…”

      College Football

      Which coach didn’t vote for Tim Tebow as All-SEC quarterback?

      July 17, 2009 /

      The SEC recently released its preseason coaches All-SEC team and unsurprisingly, Florida’s Tim Tebow was everyone’s choice as first team quarterback.

      Well, not everyone’s choice apparently.

      Only three players were unanimous choices on the first team: LSU offensive lineman Ciron Black, Tennessee defensive back Eric Berry and Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones. Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner who led the Gators to a national championship in 2008, was not a unanimous choice.

      Coaches weren’t allowed to vote for their own players, so a unanimous pick got 11 of 12 votes. Tebow got 10 of 12 votes, which means one of the SEC coaches doesn’t think that he’ll be the best quarterback in the conference this season. But which coach that was is uncertain.

      Of all the quarterbacks in the SEC, the only one who might draw a vote away from Tebow is Ole Miss’ signal caller Jevan Snead. But if the Rebels’ Houston Nutt couldn’t vote for him, then who did?

      If we could hold a blame storming session for a second, I’d like to blame either Lane Kiffin or Bobby Petrino – Kiffin because he’s proven to be a pimple on every SEC coaches’ ass since becoming head coach at Tennessee, and Petrino because he’s essentially the Hans Gruber of the college football world.

      Not that this is a huge deal because after all, it’s just a preseason All-SEC team. But any time we get the opportunity to throw Petrino under the bus for something, it must be fully taken advantage of.

      College Football

      2009 college football ranking predictions: Florida No. 1

      January 20, 2009 /

      Stewart Mandel of SI.com takes a crack at predicting how the top 25 will look in college football next season.

      Tim Tebow1. Florida (13-1 in 2008)

      Who’s back: QB Tim Tebow, DE Carlos Dunlap, LB Brandon Spikes, CB Joe Haden, S Ahmad Black.

      Who’s not: WRs Percy Harvin* and Louis Murphy, T Phil Trautwein, G Jim Tartt.

      Skinny: The defending champs return a former Heisman winner at quarterback, their top three tailbacks and, remarkably, their entire starting defense.

      2. Texas (12-1)

      Who’s back: QB Colt McCoy, WR Jordan Shipley, T Adam Ulatoski, LBs Sergio Kindle and Roddrick Muckelroy.

      Who’s not: WR Quan Cosby, DE Brian Orakpo, DT Roy Miller, CB Ryan Palmer.

      Skinny: McCoy and the offense should be potent again, and last year’s young secondary should improve with another year under Will Muschamp.

      3. Oklahoma (12-2)

      Who’s back: QB Sam Bradford, RBs DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown, TE Jermaine Gresham, DT Gerald McCoy.

      Who’s not: WRs Jauquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson, T Phil Loadholt, G Duke Robinson, S Nic Harris.

      Skinny: Bradford’s return is huge for an offense that must retool its line and receiving corps. The defense has nine starters back from the BCS title game.

      4. USC (12-1)
      Who’s back: RBs C.J. Gable, Stafon Johnson and Joe McKnight, WR Damian Williams, S Taylor Mays.

      Who’s not: QB Mark Sanchez*, DT Fili Moala, LBs Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing, S Kevin Ellison.

      Skinny: New QB Aaron Corp or Mitch Mustain will have a solid supporting cast. The defense loses a boatload of staples but should be able to reload.

      5. Ole Miss (9-4)
      Who’s back: QB Jevan Snead, RB/WR Dexter McCluster, DE Greg Hardy, CB Marshay Green, S Kendrick Lewis.

      Who’s not: T Michael Oher, DT Peria Jerry, LBs Tony Fein and Ashlee Palmer.

      Skinny: After knocking off Florida, LSU and Texas Tech, the Rebels are ready to take the next step behind star QB Snead. Hardy’s return is a huge boost.

      The 2008 season isn’t even a month dead yet and already I miss college football. (Although not the constant playoff debate, which shouldn’t even be a debate at all if BCS-supporters could ever get their heads out of their asses and realize they ruin college football every year.)

      I like seeing Ole’ Miss that high. As Mandel points out, the Rebs knocked off Florida, LSU and Texas Tech last year, and also gave Alabama a run for its money, too. Snead is the real deal and that’s a team that will be fun to watch next season.

      College Football

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