It has been a while since Florida Gators fans have been able to celebrate a Heisman Trophy for their beloved Orange and Blue dating back 15 years to when [autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag] became the first sophomore to ever win the award. He was also the third player to emerge from the Swamp with the coveted hardware following in the footsteps of [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] and [autotag]Danny Wuerffel[/autotag] before him.
Unfortunately, none of the trio of award-winning quarterbacks were able to make much of an impact in the NFL as Spurrier fizzled out with the expansion Tampa Bay Bucs before moving on to the USFL while Wuerffel had an underwhelming six seasons under the big lights spread across four different teams.
However, Tebow did have his moment during his legendary 2011 campaign with the Denver Broncos after which he was unable to rekindle that magic again. That was still enough to earn him some kudos in USA TODAY Sports Heisman Trophy rankings for the last 25 winners, in which writer Jim Reineking ranked the legendary Gator at No. 16.
Year: 2007 (Florida)
NFL accolades: 16 starts in 3 seasons
Tebow’s 2011 season is the stuff of legend. After a 1-4 start that year, the Broncos inserted Tebow as the starter. Tebow led Denver to an 8-8 finish and the AFC West title, thanks to a series of late-game heroics that inspired the “Tebow Time” moniker. To cap it all off, Tebow delivered a dramatic overtime wild-card playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Things fell apart for No. 15 after being traded to the New York Jets ahead of the 2012 season, when the Broncos brought in Peyton Manning for his closing act. Following a failed season in the Big Apple, Tebow was persistent in his efforts to get back into the league, but after being cut by Urban Meyer and the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021 in an attempt to switch to tight end, the Gator great finally hung up his cleats.
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