The Legend of Tebow Grows

Tim Tebow added to his growing celebrity on Saturday night, edging Arkansas junior running back Darren McFadden to become the first underclassmen to win the Heisman Trophy award. The result shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering Tebow became the first player to ever run and throw for 20 touchdown passes in a season. Throughout the season, there was no player in the nation that was as consistent as the sophomore, and he did while playing in the nation’s toughest conference. Tebow has been a highly touted quarterback since his junior year in high school, and his recruitment to Florida by Urban Meyer was labeled as a match made in heaven. So far in his short career, the lefty has a national championship trophy in his back pocket from his freshman year, and now college football’s most hallowed award in his second season.

McFadden finished as the runner-up for the second consecutive year, becoming the first player since 1949 to do so. He came back to Arkansas to win the Heisman, and even though he fell short, he wowed us all once again in his junior year. He could easily be the top pick in the NFL’s Draft in April, and is the best pro prospect of the four finalists. He was ultimately done in by a two games, a 61 yard game against Florida International (although he ran for four touchdowns), and a 43 yard performance against arch rival Auburn. After that tough outing, however, McFadden lit up the field with a tremendous four game stretch to finish the season where he tied a conference record with 321 yards against South Carolina, and one of the marquee individual performances of the season when he rank for 206 yards and three touchdowns in a triple overtime upset of LSU.

Colt Brennan and Chase Daniel, two quarterbacks from ultra-successful teams, finished third and fourth respectively. Brennan had a sick year, but it must be a considered a down year, stats wise, in comparison to his banner year from a season ago. Last season, Colt threw 58 touchdowns against 12 interceptions for 5549 yards and a 72.6 completion percentage. This season Brennan has less TD’s (35), with more interceptions (13), with only 4301 yards while completing 68% of his passes for the undefeated Rainbows. At least he has a monumental Sugar Bowl matchup against Georgia, one of the nation’s hottest teams, awaiting him. He can prove once and for all just how valuable he is in that one.

Daniel, on the other hand, has had a rough week as he lost a grip on the #1 ranking and possibly, the Heisman Trophy. Missouri’s signal caller had an outside shot at winning the award, and more importantly a national championship bid when he faced Oklahoma in the Big XII Championship last weekend. However, a 21-point loss in which he failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time all year knocked his team out of the BCS altogether, and left Daniel with a fourth place finish. Don’t knock the Tigers or Daniel though because they had a tremendous year, putting Missouri back on the map.

For all intents and purposes, though, the night belonged to Tebow, who sets his sights on the Capital One Bowl against Michigan and possibly, a second consecutive Heisman Trophy next season, which would make him only the second player ever to do that.