SZVETITZ COLUMN: Tebow deserves another Heisman

Tim Tebow did everything he said he was going to do.

Come on, you remember the speech he gave following Florida’s 1-point loss to Ole Miss back on Sept. 27.

How could you forget?

Tebow, the quarterback — Superman — gave the most stirring locker room address since they were supposed to “win one for the Gipper.”

And it wasn’t meant to be flashy or selfish or “hey, look at me.” It was real. It was heartfelt. It was, well, Tim Tebow being Tim Tebow.

Here’s what he said:

“I just want to say one thing,” Tebow told reporters in a postgame interview after Ole Miss handed the undefeated and fourth-ranked Gators a 31-30 loss in The Swamp. “To the fans and everybody in Gator Nation ... I’m sorry. I’m extremely sorry. We were hoping for an undefeated season. That was my goal — something Florida’s never done here.

“But I promise you one thing, a lot of good will come out of this. You will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season. And you will never see someone push the rest of his team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season. You will never see a team play harder than we will the entire season. God bless.”

Wow.

To read it is one thing, but to have actually seen it, well, if you don’t get goose bumps on the back of your neck, then, um, check your pulse.

Tebow meant what he said. He really meant it.

And guess what? He did it. He willed his team to win the rest of its games, entering the SEC Championship as a 9½-point favorite against the No. 1 team in the country.

Then, in Atlanta last weekend, Tebow willed his team to beat undefeated Alabama and earn a spot in the BCS National Championship Game — Florida’s second trip to the title game in the last three years.

I was in Atlanta on Saturday for the SEC Championship. I stood 10 feet away from Tebow as he celebrated the Gators’ final touchdown to seal the victory over the Crimson Tide.

I saw a man possessed — a man who made everything he said in that locker room two months prior come true.

He made it happen. Period.

Tim Tebow is the only reason Florida is in the national championship game. I’m not trying to take away anything from the rest of the Gators’ roster, but if there’s one guy in the game of college football who can lead his team to the heights UF has reached, it’s Tim Tebow.

He’s just that good.

And an even better person.

I know, I know, I’m just like everyone else. But, there’s a reason why so many people love this kid ... because he’s everything he says he is. He follows through with everything he says he’s going to do. His faith. His work ethic. His leadership. His team.

He said he’d push himself and his team as hard as possible to make sure a loss like the one suffered to Ole Miss would never happen again. And guess what? He did.

I don’t think I can stress that point enough. He made it happen. It came true. For that reason alone, Tebow deserves to win the Heisman Trophy for the second year in a row.

But, that’s not the only reason why he should be holding the greatest prize in all of college football tonight in New York.

The other reason? Well, he’s the best player in college football. No one means as much to his respective team as Tebow does to Florida.

Not Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford. Not Texas’ Colt McCoy. Not Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell.

Tebow, as I said last year, is the MVP of MVPs. He’s the best. The guy who means the most. You take Tebow off of Florida’s roster, and the Gators are a .500 team at best. He makes the difference.

And that’s why I voted for him to win the Heisman, again. The trophy is supposed to go to the best player in college football. And that’s Tim Tebow.

He willed himself into that position. And until he graduates, or someone proves him wrong, he’ll stay there.

MIKE SZVETITZ is sports editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He may be reached at mszvetitz@oanow.com or 737-2513.