Tebow’s high school coach irked by doubters
by John Patton
Very few people know Tim Tebow as well as Craig Howard.
Tebow’s high school coach at Ponte Vedra Beach Nease, Howard has been taken aback by recent criticisms levied at the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner.
“He’s the most scrutinized quarterback I have ever seen,” Howard said. “It seems like so many people want to pick out what they find to be wrong with him.
“I wonder why it is everybody compares his throwing motion to Dan Marino. I mean, really, who ever released the ball as quickly as Marino? Who throws like him? And there is more to a quarterback than throwing motion and whether he plays primarily out of a shotgun or under center.
“Brett Favre doesn’t have a perfect throwing motion, but he’s a winner in every aspect of the game and just played in the NFC Championship Game. Timmy is the same way.”
Howard goes further with an analogy.
“Some guys are great talents, but are in it for themselves,” Howard said. “You see it a lot in basketball.
“That person is great, but they don’t make anybody else great. But guys with him become better when they are around Tim Tebow.”
Howard said he doesn’t want to hear talk that Tebow can’t be an NFL quarterback.
“He was the most dominant high school quarterback I have ever seen,” Howard said. “He took a no-nothing team at Nease and made it into a powerhouse (winning a state title as a senior), and he did it despite so many people doubting him dating back to when he was 14- or 15-years-old.
“When he was being recruited, multiple coaches told me he cannot play the way he did at Nease in the SEC. How right were they? It’s the same deal now.”
Later, Howard recalled a meeting Tebow had while in high school with a respected veteran coach, who has been an offensive assistant with eight different NFL teams.
“Marc Trestman (at the time North Carolina State’s offensive coordinator) visited with us and said he had never seen a kid with a mind like that at 17,” Howard said. “He said Timmy could talk Xs and Os better than a college quarterback.
“And while on (college) visits, most kids want to meet with the coaches and players some but want to get out quickly to go to sororities and places like that where the girls are. Tim would sit with coaches and break down tape until 2 a.m.
“He’s a football junkie who can’t get enough.”
Howard said not only can Tebow succeed in the NFL, he might be able to keep one team from either being contracted or moved.
“The possibility of the Jacksonville Jaguars drafting him could save that franchise,” Howard said. “Look at the Senior Bowl. The day he announced he was coming, it sold out. People follow him, and fans in Jacksonville will come out to watch him play. And with (Pro Bowl quarterback) David Garrard there, like with Chris Leak in Tim’s freshman year at Florida, Tim won’t be asked to do too much really early but could still be a contributor who makes plays and gets people talking.
“It’s the same thing I told Urban Meyer. You aren’t just getting a quarterback, you are getting a guy who will change your program. He will change you.
“He made me a better coach. I wanted to be a better coach because I didn’t want to let him down.”
nice story! i cant believe all the doubters either. i guess it goes with the teritory! when ur the best theres always someone who wants to knock u down( todd mccshay)!!! you’ll be fine and i hope jville takes him.go gators and go tebow!!!
by collazo
It’s nice to see someone whose known Tim so long stick up for him. The great thing about the scrutiny Tim undergoes is he’s ok with it. A lot of us would bend or crack under the pressure. Tim doesn’t. He’s got his priorities straight. Seeing him regularly on tv and in the paper, and getting to know the kind of person he is has made a lot of us want to get deeper into our faith.
by BSJGator
nice comments from someone who knows something about tims abilities first hand, all the critics are full of it and i cant wait till he gets drafted by some smart coach so they can all go back to the holes they crawled out of. theres another negative article on this site from some jerk from boston like anybody cares about waht he thinks, stupid yankee… the bigger problem is why the sun would publish his trash. ive only been reading the sun gator page online since before the start of last season. the more i read it the more i think it sucks and this article is another example. the only consistently good writer is robbie andreu, dooley is ok sometimes but a dork the rest. can anybody suggest a really good site to get gator football info? good luck tim, prove the losers wrong once again.
by montanagator
Face!!!
by Sambizle
Great blog. I look forward to seeing his “infomercial” during the Super Bowl—even more than the commericals! It means something no matter what you believe about the subject matter. It is a world class athlete telling the world what he believes in and you have captured his spirit through the inspiration he gave his high school coach. Great angle and great follow through on this chapter of Tebow’s life.
by Gar
Youtube has 5 ten minute segments of the documentary, “Tim Tebow: The Chosen One”. It was filmed in Tim’s senior year at Nease, and Coach Craig is covered a bit in it as well. Just a little FYI.
I find myself a bit perturbed as well, but I do understand the doubt. I don’t share the doubt because I think Timmy is just a different animal altogether, and my money is on him developing into a winner on the pro level as well. I’ll have to be proven wrong before I believe he’ll fail, which means I’ll have to see it, not listen to some “expert” give me his opinion.
by Travis Smith
Tim Tebow is like EFHutton…when Tim speaks everyone listens! I just wish there were more athletes like him who really cared about his fellow man along with the sport he loves. Go Timmy and prove them wrong. God hasn’t let you down yet and he never will!
by Dibble
God his bigger things to worry about then getting Tim Tebow into the NFL…The guy is not a pro style quarterback, never has been, never will be. I wish people would quit acting like he is the second coming of christ. He is an athlete, that is it
by Don
What is there not to like about Tim Tebow?!! Finally, he is getting the praise that he deserves for being more than a champion on and off the field!! He does more in one day than most people do in a lifetime!! Gotta give him credit for his fortitude as well as standing up for his beliefs in spite of all the undeserved criticism! Would love to be able to be in Mobile to cheer him on…hopefully, will get a chance at UF Senior Pro Day!! CK
by Cathy K
I am not even a gator fan, but I believe all the negative attention being paid to Tim Tebow is due to the fact nobody wants to admit that the kid is really this genuine a player.The media always seems to want to find a reason to bring the really good guys down that exemplify how a great athlete really should conduct themselves. We certainly have had enough of the arrogant athletes lately showing their true colors. So go Tim. I will even come see you play if you end up in Jacksonville. You are the kind of athlete every parent would want their child to be.
by DEMS
I find it remarkable that Tim gets so much heat (and hate) and that he is able to maintain his head and heart through it all. I only wish I had his stamina. We all know what he can do, and I look forward to him once again proving the pundits wrong.
GOOD LUCK, Timmy, WE ARE ALL PULLING FOR YOU!
by Joanne
Tim Tebow will be working on Sundays; either behind center or behind a pulpit.
Jeremiah 29:11
by IG
Tebow will go as far and play as long as he wants to in the NFL. He’s that good and that dedicated.
by Ron Baxley
Lemme seeeee,…..Won a high school championship his senior year: won two SEC championships in three years: won a national championship his junior year in college: was the first sophmore to ever win the Heisman Trophy, and set just about every record as a QB at Florida, including the number of rushing TD’s set back by Herschel Walker over 25 years ago. …….and his “release” is a little slow”? Gimme a break!!
by LeeBo Hartay
im so tierd of hearing how tim tebow cant play in the nfl he has the body the heart the will and mind to win at anything he wants to do after all the quarterback is the leader on the field and tebow is the best leader in the college game in 20 years a good coach could make him the best that ever was because he has it all so he needs to work on some things what does the nfl know they draft quarter backs in the first round all the time who cant make it they have good mechanics and footwork but lack in all the other areas when the smart team out there drafts him he will make all the rest pay even if it takes him a few years he is a leader and the nfl could use some of that good luck tim
by tim bullard
I really just do not understand this entire thing. Someone please fill me in on how Tony Pike is the #1 QB at this bowl and Tebow is getting a D+ grade from the “expert” McShay. Did he not watch the Sugar Bowl when these two went head to head? I am an Alabama fun and I have hated Tebow’s guts all through his time at Florida, but the guy is amazing. I hope some GM gives Tebow the chance he deserves, but if they listen to idiots like McShay then that does not seem to be likely.
by Josh
I don’t believe the scouts know what to do with Tim Tebow. He is about the best any of them have ever seen. What they are doing is showing their celf centeredness by trying to out figure each other on what Tebow is capable of doing on the field. Every scout seems afraid to see what he is made of. They are constantly scrambling to be the one who says “I told you so”.
What it all comes down to is that it isn’t Tim Tebow they are so concerned about, because he is simply one of us. What they are struggling with is the one standing with him.
The one standing with tim Tebow is Jesus. Lets keep this in mind. The belief system that is the closest to the truth is the one the world is trying the hardest to get rid of and is the one most likely to be the truth.
Tim is a Christian. This is what they can’t deal with. He is like Joshua and Caleb who knows they can take the land of milk and honey. The scouts brought back the other report.
Be all you can be Tim, and leave the results with Jesus. He will take you places you have never dreamed of.
by James Ross
Mr. Patton,
Could you provide additional info and perspective on recent FAMU commit DE Chris White (Newberry HS).
Thanks.
by Marcus
Tim Tebow is not your run-of-the mill quarterback. He is a Christian quarterback who is excelling because of his skills, talent, humility, dedication, hardwork,leadership. No matter what doubters will say about him, in the end his legacy will always shine. I was not a big fan of football until I saw him play. Tim, thank you for being a role-model to many and blessing us with your stellar example. We are praying and rooting for you. God bless, Tim Tebow!!!
by TebowFan
Tebow is an awesome young man with his feet firmly planted on terra firma and his heart filled with the love of God. His performance in the Sr. Bowl wasn’t awe-inspiring, but nor were a lot of others, and he had been sick.
You can’t count him out. He doesn’t give up and he doesn’t allow his teammates to give up either, in a game or on themselves.
Whatever he does, he will succeed in it and our young people will be blest by the strong, positive example he sets.
God bless you, Tim, and your family…btw…I have a gorgeous grandaughter…..
by nana44w
Thanks for all of the comments, even from the guy who says Robbie is the only good writer on our staff.
For Marcus: I’m really happy for Chris White. He is a really talented kid who lost a lot of his senior season due to injury. But in the short time he played (six games) he recorded 14 tackles-for-loss and constantly harassed quarterbacks. He is about 6-foot-3, 215 pounds with room to grow. FAMU got a good one.
by John Patton
If I’m not mistaken the “experts” said that Joe Montana would not make it as an NFL quarterback because he didn’t go in the first round. Four Super Bowl rings later, who’s laughing now? Jerry Rice was not drafted high and was just inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Brian Griese, a journeyman quarterback himself, said that Tebow could not make it in the NFL. Brian’s father, Bob Griese, who is no journeyman and has the Super Bowl Rings to prove it, says that he can. How many Super Bowl Rings does Todd McShay have.
by Arcadia Gator