HOOVER, Ala. - The hunt for the coach who left Florida's Tim Tebow off his preseason All-Southeastern Conference team came to an end Friday, and while Steve Spurrier wasn't caught red-handed, he was red-faced.
The South Carolina coach and former UF great admitted to being the lone dissenter that kept Tebow from being a unanimous selection, but he called it a mistake, apologized and changed his vote, making Tebow a unanimous pick after all.
"I admire and respect [Tebow]," Spurrier said. "I apologize to him. He should have been on that ballot. We messed up. I messed up. I'm trying to correct it best I can. But I messed it up. I take full blame for it."
Spurrier said he didn't fill out the ballot, and he didn't check over the list an aide filled out closely enough before signing off on it. In fact, Spurrier said he only saw two names on the list before passing it-Georgia receiver A.J. Green and Florida defensive end Carlos Dunlap.
When Spurrier heard about the story on Thursday morning, he said he called USC's director of football operations to make sure his vote wasn't the one in question. After learning that his vote was cast for Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead, he called SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom and asked to change his vote.
Bloom changed the vote, and Spurrier's interview session Friday was largely a mea culpa to Tebow and Florida fans.
"I made a mistake," he said. "Tim Tebow is not only the best quarterback in this league, I think he's the best in the country. I think he's the best football player in the country. What he's done there, I believe he and Danny Wuerffel will go down in history as the two best quarterbacks, maybe the two best to ever play college football. That's how good he is."
While the story was never truly a big deal, it has cast some doubt on the legitimacy of coaches' ballots in general. The regular-season coaches poll is an element of the BCS rankings, and while Spurrier said he fills out those ballots himself, he doesn't think they should carry much weight.
"I don't know why we vote," he said. "I guess we vote because college football is still without a playoff system. I really believe most coaches do not know a whole lot about other teams, but we do vote. That's what they ask us to do."
Spurrier's admission vindicated Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, who was suspected despite having said he voted for Tebow earlier this month.
"I'm surprised you guys stuck around because I thought coach Spurrier gave you what you wanted," Kiffin said after taking the podium.
Kiffin then pulled out an SEC ballot to prove it, and said, "Oh, by the way, I voted for 11 Florida Gators on the first team in case anyone was wondering."
Throughout the week, some media members focused on Spurrier as the "culprit," hypothesizing that he's jealous of Florida's recent success without him.
Spurrier struck down that notion Friday, re-emphasizing what he has said for several years.
"I pull for Florida when they're not playing us," he said. "If we don't win the SEC, I hope Florida does it. Urban has been the best coach in the country the last three years. Simple as that. We all know that.
"I admire everything that they do. They do it the right way. Their players play clean. They do it the right way. I give them credit for everything that they've accomplished. I admire what they've done."
