Colleges

Tebow for Heisman! (But don't tell Meyer)

Three games into the season, that's the slogan on the hottest T-shirt selling at Gator Mania in the Oaks Mall touting quarterback Tim Tebow for the Heisman Trophy.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published September 18, 2007

Gators quarterback Tim Tebow is second in the nation in passing efficiency and has 835 yards and eight touchdowns in three games.
	[BRIAN CASSELLA | Times]

GAINESVILLE - HE15MAN for Heisman.

Three games into the season, that's the slogan on the hottest T-shirt selling at Gator Mania in the Oaks Mall touting quarterback Tim Tebow for the Heisman Trophy.

Get it? HE 15 MAN. (Tebow is No. 15).

Oh, come on, you knew it was bound to happen.

Tebow is second in the nation in passing efficiency with a 228.8 rating (73.7 completion percentage) and has 835 yards and eight touchdowns in three games.

Apparently that's good enough for Florida fans.

Store employees report the shirt, which has been available since the summer -before Tebow even started a game - is among its best sellers. Fans can pay $18.99 all they want, but coach Urban Meyer won't go there.

Meyer admits he openly campaigned for former Utah quarterback Alex Smith in his quest for the Heisman and said he'd do it again -if he had a legitimate contender. And anyone who thinks that's Tebow right now needs a reality check, Meyer said.

"At this point I'd say absolutely not," he said when asked if he'll campaign for Tebow. "But if it reaches that point, that's our job, to help this team."

Tebow's teammates can't help themselves. They are having a little fun with the whole thing.

"We all give him a hard time," running back Jarred Fayson said. "We call him Hollywood T."

ROAD WORRIES: When Florida travels to Ole Miss this weekend, 48 freshmen and sophomores will make the trip for the first time. Seventeen of those are freshmen who have never played on the road, all combined a concern for the staff and veteran players.

"I told them we have to go on the road and that's a whole different deal," senior safety Tony Joiner said. "It's much easier to do this when you're at home and practically the entire stadium is on your side. So we have to get them ready to go play in a hostile environment and play with the same focus and intensity."

The 11:30 a.m. CST kickoff could be a problem for some players, though Tebow said he prefers the early games. It was the 2005 Outback Bowl (which began at 11 a.m.) that started a game-day morning ritual the coaches still use.

"First, you make them go to bed a little earlier, which we do," Meyer said. "When we wake them up, it is a circus. There is no alarm clock going off, it's assistant coaches kicking the doors in and ripping the curtains open. We give them some orange juice, throw a newspaper at them and have fun with the guys. We started that at the Outback Bowl and have continued it at every road game. We even do it with the night games now. Some of the players look forward to it, and some cannot stand it."

Ole Miss has won three of the past five meetings, including the previous two. The last time the Gators were in Oxford (2003), they left the field as Rebels fans raced to tear down the goal posts after a 20-17 upset victory. Florida hasn't won in the state since Oct. 1, 1994.

[Last modified September 18, 2007, 01:07:55]