A legend grows with Hall bid
UF great Tebow is a 1st-ballot candidate
Legendary Florida quarterback Tim Tebow could soon add a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame to his singular resumé.
Tebow, a two-time national champion, Heisman winner and SEC record-setter, headlines the list of candidates for the 2023 class during the 34-year-old’s first year of eligibility.
The list, announced Monday, is the usual who’s who of college football history. Former Utah greats Alex Smith and Eric Weddle, Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly and Oregon defensive tackle Haloti Ngata are among the first-time nominees.
Each enjoyed long and successful NFL careers, but none came close to matching Tebow’s accomplishments at the college level.
Tebow remains the SEC’s all-time leader in total touchdowns with 145, including a league-record 57 rushing scores. He ended his Gators’ career with the most rushing yards by an SEC quarterback (2,947) and the best passer efficiency with 170.8, now fourth amid an age of high-octane passing offenses.
The Jacksonville area native accounted for 51 touchdowns to win the 2007 Heisman Trophy. Tebow’s 482 passing yards during his final game, the 2010 Sugar Bowl, remain a school record.
More than anything, the bruising 6-foot-3, 245-pound Tebow was a winner. The Gators were 48-7 during his four seasons in Gainesville (2006-2009) and captured the 2006 and 2008 national titles.
For his efforts, Tebow earned a statue outside the Swamp, next to fellow Heisman-winning quarterbacks Steve Spurrier and Danny Wuerffel.
The trio, along with Emmitt Smith, Jack Youngblood and Wilber Marshall, make up the school’s Ring of Honor sitting on the upper north edge of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Tebow’s election to the College Football Hall of Fame is considered a formality. Many observers view his body of work at Florida superior to any college quarterback.
Tebow would be the 10th Florida player inducted, joining his fellow Ring of Honor members in addition to Carlos Alvarez, Lomas Brown, Wes
in school history with 388 tackles, and his performance lifted Miami to appearances in the Fiesta and Orange bowls. McKinnie won the Outland Trophy for the top offensive lineman in the country in 2001 while helping the team win its fifth national title. ‘
There were 80 players and nine coaching candidates on this year’s Football Bowl Subdivision ballot, with 96 players and 33 coaching candidates on the Divisional ballot. To be eligible, players must be 10 years removed from their final college
football season and have completed their professional careers. They must also have been named a first-team All-American.
Coaches are eligible three seasons after their retirement or immediately following retirement if they’re over the age of 70. Candidates must have been a head coach for at least a decade and coached at least 100 games and have won at least 60% of their games.
The Hurricanes also had two coaching candidates make the ballot with Larry Coker and Mark Richt.
Coker took over the Miami program in 2001 after Butch Davis left to take the head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns. Coker led the
Hurricanes to consecutive BCS Championship appearances in 2001-02 while claiming the title in his first year as a head coach. He finished with a 60-15 record in six seasons in south Florida.
Richt returned to his alma mater in 2016 after a 14-year career at Georgia. He led the Hurricanes to a 26-13 record, including earning the program’s first ACC Coastal Division title in 2017, before retiring in 2018.
Receivers Bernard Ford (1985-87) and David Rhodes (1991-94), along with kickers Ed O’Brien (1984-87) and Charlie Pierce (1995-96), were among four UCF players back on the Divisional ballot.
Ford led the Knights with 1,180 receiving yards in 1987 and finished with 21 career touchdowns while Rhodes is the school record-holder for receptions (213), receiving yards (3,618) and receiving touchdowns (29). O’Brien finished his career second all-time in program history with 50 field goals made and first in field goals attempted (77). Pierce, who helped the Knights to the 1993 FCS Playoffs, finished his career third in school history in punts (173) and punt yardage (7,111).