MIAMI - He doesn't know. Even if he has an inkling, he won't tell you. Perhaps you'll get one of his school-boy chuckles and "yes sirs" or "yes ma'ams." It could be just a grin and an "I don't know."
Tim Tebow will not concede any thought, any notion, any potential, any possibility, any hope that, with a win tonight, he could be known as the greatest college football player of all time.
Greatest. That's a hard one to define. Let's forget about talent. All the players in this conversation were extremely talented - that's not what separates them. There are ridiculous statistics by the bunch, too, and awards that were given because of those statistics. That can be called a wash.
Now, look at the impact they've made on the game. The mark they've left on a program. Even the effect they've had on teammates and coaches.
Georgia running back Herschel Walker took a previously 6-5 team in 1979 to an undefeated season in 1980 - and he had more of an impact than just on the field. He changed the makeup of that program.
Illinois running back Red Grange had 402 total yards in one game against Michigan on Oct. 18, 1924. He was, at the time, the most unique football player who had ever played.
Illinois linebacker Dick Butkus was everything the game is about. If there was a tougher and more passionate player in college football, he's hard to find.
Tebow is on this list, and he will be heading it with a win tonight.
He was blessed with a body capable of packing on the muscle without losing speed and with an arm that could throw a football 50 yards downfield with ridiculous precision. That brought him to college football with an opportunity, as it has many others before him.
Nobody has taken advantage of the opportunities before him as much as Tebow has. Speaking. Ministering. Inspiring. Leading.
If he returns next year, he has the chance to win three national championships and two Heisman trophies in his tenure.
Tebow had to prove it on the field to get these opportunities, but he does that almost every time his cleats touch grass. He has had unprecedented statistics, becoming the first player ever to score 20 passing and 20 rushing touchdowns in a season.
He was the first sophomore to ever win the Heisman Trophy. These are only the subpoints of why he deserves to be known as the greatest. When people look back on college football in 2008, if the Gators win tonight, the image of Tebow proclaiming nobody will work harder than him after a 31-30 loss to Mississippi will be what's remembered. He is not just the greatest player. He's the greatest person. He chest-bumps offensive coordinator Dan Mullen before games and then thanks Jesus Christ afterward. He runs over opponents after they say they will find a way to stop him, and then goes into the defense and special teams huddles, telling them to play harder than ever.
This is what greatness is about, and this is Tim Tebow. This may be the greatest college football player ever.
Will it happen? Let's go find out.
