Former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow has officially landed on the cover of EA Sports’ NCAA Football 11 video game.

EA Sports NCAA Football 11 Cover Shoot Video

Tebow, who recently signed an endorsement deal with Nike, is the second Florida player to be featured on the game franchise’s cover. His childhood idol and Heisman Trophy winning QB Danny Wuerffel was the cover athlete of NCAA Football 98, the first installment of the genre’s best-selling series.

Now we know why Tebow was so hesitant to give OGGOA a decisive answer on this topic when we interviewed him over a week ago. “[Laughing] EA, we’ll see,” he said.

Best of all for Tebow, his relationship with EA Sports extends beyond simple promotion. The video game company has done wonders to help him give sick children in Gainesville, FL, something to do while in the hospital.

“It’s exciting to be with EA Sports because when you look at their brand, it’s very positive. It’s great for young kids, it’s great for everyone to sit down and play a good video game,” Tebow told ESPN. That’s something that’s uplifting and something everyone can have fun with. We spent the last year building a play room at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, and these games are going to be a big part of it.”

Read Tebow’s entire interview with ESPN Video Games.

Jon Robinson: What was your reaction the first time you saw yourself in a video game?
Tim Tebow: First thing I thought was, I’m faster than that. [Llughs] I wanted to call some people and get my speed rating bumped up a little bit. But it’s fun to be a part of the game. It’s something that exciting, and it’s a little surreal to be honest, because you’re playing as yourself in a game that you grew up playing. As a kid, I always looked up to these guys who were on the cover of the college game, so it’s a really fun experience for me just to be involved.

JR: What did you think the first time you saw your video game character throw an interception?
TT: To be honest, I don’t actually play as Florida a lot. Even the last four years I haven’t played as them too often because they’re really good in the game and it’s too much of an advantage for whoever is playing as them. Usually we pick lesser teams. But the other day I was playing against my brother and he was playing as Florida, and he was trying to scramble around, he was running to his left and threw all the way back down the field to his right like 80 yards. I was like, “There’s no way I could’ve made that pass.” So sometimes the video games exaggerate a little bit. But my brother was like, “What, are you doubting yourself? You don’t have confidence?” It was pretty funny.

Starting with NCAA Football 09, EA Sports began featuring different student-athletes on the game’s cover for each individual platform (PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox360, Wii, etc.) It is unknown if Tebow would grace the 2011 game’s cover on one or every format.

Photo Credit: Jon Robinson/ESPN

Tags: Danny Wuerffel, EA Sports, Heisman Trophy, NCAA Football 11, Tim Tebow

If the enshrinement of “The Promise” speech outside Heavener Football Complex is not enough for you, former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow may be immortalized in front of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as a bronze statue, too.

The Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley has learned that Tebow along with former QB Danny Wuerffel and former head coach and QB Steve Spurrier will be enshrined in statues somewhere either inside or outside of The Swamp if everything goes as planned.

The goal is to not only honor the Gators’ three Heisman Trophy winners but also, arguably, the three most important players in school history. Dooley reports that the University Athletic Association has hired sculptor Sandy Proctor out of Tallahassee, FL, to work on the three statues and the process is underway (though there are, of course, a few speed bumps).

Proctor has already spent two hours with Wuerffel, will meet with Spurrier on Tuesday in Gainesville, FL, and plans to sit down with Tebow sometime in the future.

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Former Florida wide receiver and current NBC Sunday Night Football color commentator Cris Collinsworth will be awarded the Pat Summerall Award on Thurs., Feb. 4 at the Legends for Charity Dinner. The award is presented to an individual with a connection to the NFL who has made a significant contribution to the sports field.

Tags: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Cris Collinsworth, Danny Wuerffel, Florida Gators, Heavener Football Complex, Heisman Trophy, Legends for Charity Dinner, Pat Summerall Award, Sandy Proctor, Steve Spurrier, The Swamp, Tim Tebow, University Athletic Association

Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal reported Monday afternoon that former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow is close to a deal that would land him on the cover of EA Sports’ NCAA Football 11 video game.

Tebow, who recently hired Jimmy Sexton of Athletic Resource Management as his agent, would be the second Florida player to be featured on this game franchise’s cover. Heisman Trophy winning QB Danny Wuerffel was on the cover of NCAA Football 98, the first installment of the best-selling series.

Mullen spoke with EA Sports senior director of athlete relations Sandy Sandoval, who neither confirmed nor denied the report. Starting with NCAA Football 09, EA Sports began featuring different student-athletes on the game’s cover for each individual platform (PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox360, Wii, etc.) It is unknown if Tebow would grace the 2011 game’s cover on one or every format.

Tags: Athletic Resource Management, Danny Wuerffel, EA Sports, Heisman Trophy, Jimmy Sexton, NCAA Football 11, Tim Tebow

1 » One year ago, the Florida Gators women’s basketball team upset the then-No. 12/17 Tennessee Lady Vols 66-57 in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Looking to repeat history, a much younger Florida team (9-8, 2-2 SEC) had the game tied at 64 against a significantly more experienced No. 4 Tennessee squad (15-1, 3-0 SEC) until Lady Vols guard Angie Bjorklund hit a reverse lay-up with 2.3 seconds left in the second half to pull ahead and ultimately win 66-64. Four Gators scored in double figures, and Florida led for much of the second half but could not hold on.

2 » In a news item that OGGOA broke Thursday via twitter, former Gators linebacker Ryan Stamper was invited to be a participant in the 2010 East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 23 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL. Stamper is currently slated to play in the game but may have to pull out if the ankle injury he suffered in the 2010 Sugar Bowl flares up. The game will air live on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. In other Stamper news, he has decided to sign with agent Garriet Blair of GMB Sports and Entertainment. Quarterback Tim Tebow has declined an invitation to the East-West Shrine and will instead participate in the 2010 Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL.

All-Americans, Wuerffel, 2011 recruits and Gators in the pros after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Tough loss, Stamper, Wuerffel, 2011

Tags: A.C. Leonard, Aaron Hernandez, All-America, Angie Bjorklund, Carlos Dunlap, Channing Crowder, Citrus Bowl, Danny Wuerffel, David Lee, De'Ante Saunders, Draft, East-West Shrine Game, Heisman Trophy, Jeoffrey Pagan, Joe Haden, Major Wright, Maurkice Pouncey, Miami Dolphins, NBA, New York Knicks, NFL, O'Connell Center, Ryan Stamper, Senior Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Tennessee Lady Vols, Tim Tebow, women's basketball

A day after nine Florida Gators football players were named to the 2009 All-SEC team as voted by the league’s head coaches, the Southeastern Conference announced that senior quarterback Tim Tebow has been named the 2009 SEC Offensive Player of the Year and 2009 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Tebow, who also won both awards in 2008, was given the honors this year after eclipsing four NCAA records, 13 SEC records and 26 University of Florida records. He joins former Gators quarterbacks Shane Matthews (1990-91) and Danny Wuerffel (1995-96) as back-to-back winners of the SEC Offensive Player of the Year award. Tebow was honored Tuesday night with the 2009 William V. Campbell Trophy, also known as the “Academic Heisman.”

Tags: Academic Heisman, Campbell Trophy, Danny Wuerffel, SEC, SEC Offensive Player of the Year, SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Shane Matthews, Tim Tebow, University of Florida

Florida Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow was awarded the 2009 William V. Campbell Trophy, also known as the “Academic Heisman Trophy,” by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame on Tuesday. The trophy is awarded annually to a college graduate for their outstanding ability on the field, work in the classroom (minimum 3.2 GPA) and strong leadership. The honor comes with a bronze trophy and $25,000 postgraduate scholarship.

“This award means so much because it’s not just how you play on the field, it’s not just what you do in the classroom, but it’s what you do as a leader and someone who is going to serve your community,” Tebow said. “That’s what’s most important about this award, because all these guys are great players and they’re extremely intelligent, but more importantly, they’re good people. They help their community and they make a difference in this world. The National Football Foundation has done such a good job of taking us in, putting us together and letting us build relationships with each other. With so many of the members, it has been a blessing to get to know all these guys, great guys who you see on the field, but then when you really meet them, you get to know them as people, you get to build those relationships. I think that’s what’s so special about things like this.”

One of only four schools to have multiple winners of the trophy, previous Gators recipients include defensive tackle Brad Culpepper (1991) and quarterback Danny Wuerffel (1996). Center Mike Degory (2005) and long snapper James Smith (2008) were semifinalists for the Campbell Trophy, while quarterback Chris Leak was a finalist in 2006. Florida has the most recipients of any school in the award’s 20-year existence.

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Prized five-star Gators safety commitment Matt Elam received two prestigious honors over the last few days. On Thursday, Elam was named the 2009 Gatorade Football Player of the Year for the state of Florida while on Tuesday he was honored as 2009 Lou Groza Award winner for Outstanding High School Football Player. Elam is the first back-to-back winner of the award (2008).

Tags: Academic Heisman, Brad Culpepper, Campbell Trophy, Chris Leak, Danny Wuerffel, Gatorade Football Player of the Year, James Smith, Lou Groza Award, Matt Elam, Mike Degory, Tim Tebow

Missing a 37-yard field goal early in the first quarter, Florida Gators kicker Caleb Sturgis rebounded with makes from 30 and 51 and a game-winning 27-yard attempt to help the No. 1 team in the country overcome four turnovers to defeat the Arkansas Razorbacks 23-20 on homecoming night in The Swamp.

In front of a crowd of 90,508 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Florida improved to 6-0 (4-0) on the season and kept a school record and nation-leading 16-game winning streak alive. Tied 20-20 with 4:19 remaining in the game, the Razorbacks missed a 38-yard field goal, returning the ball to the Gators on their own 21 yard line. Senior quarterback Tim Tebow led Florida on a 14-play, 69-yard drive down the field to set up Sturgis for his 27-yard kick with nine seconds remaining on the clock.

“I got kind of down on myself early,” Sturgis said about missing his first field goal attempt in the game. “I wanted to make [the last field goal] for my teammates. They work so hard, and I don’t do much [by comparison]. I was ready to hit that ball from 57 [yards] when it was third down.”

It seemed to be Murphy’s Law for the Gators throughout the game, as just about everything that could go wrong did. Florida had four fumbles (three inside the red zone), dropped three passes and allowed Arkansas to hit on a 75-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Mallett to wide receiver Greg Childs in the fourth quarter. Mallett threw for 224 yards while kick returner Dennis Johnson, who started at running back in place of injured Michael Smith, ran for 107 yards in his stead.

Tebow finished 17-of-26 for 255 yards and a touchdown with 69 more yards on the ground; he also accounted for 52 yards in the team’s final drive. During the game, Tebow became the all-time SEC record holder in touchdown responsibility with 123 (75 passing, 48 rushing), passing former Gators quarterback Danny Wuerffel.

Tight end Aaron Hernandez led all receivers with career-highs in receptions (seven) and yards (92), while wide receiver Deonte Thompson added one 77-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. Wide receiver Riley Cooper was clutch throughout the game, grabbing six balls for 58 yards and numerous first downs.

While it took the Gators the entire game to recover from their errors and squeak out a win, Tebow was hopeful that the hard fought victory would serve a purpose for his team throughout the remainder of the season. “A win like that brings you so much closer together,” Tebow said. “That will lead up to a great week of practice this week.”

Florida returns to the road next week, heading to Starkville, MS, to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m. The game will air on ESPN/ESPN2.

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Arkansas Razorbacks, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Caleb Sturgis, Danny Wuerffel, Dennis Johnson, Deonte Thompson, Greg Childs, Michael Smith, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Riley Cooper, Ryan Mallett, The Swamp, Tim Tebow

1 » Florida Gators injury update for Saturday vs. Arkansas Razorbacks:
CB Moses Jenkins (concussion) – Out. Read this OGGOA story.
LB Jelani Jenkins (ankle) – Doubtful.
DL Lawrence Marsh (ankle) – In protective boot again. Doubtful.
DL Jaye Howard (knee) – Called “50-50” by Meyer. Questionable.
- Redshirt freshman Omar Hunter and senior Troy Epps will rotate on the inside.
WR Carl Moore (back) – Remains Out and struggling to get healthy.
CB Jeremy Brown (back) – Also remains Out, progressing faster than Moore.

2 » Arkansas Razorbacks star running back Michael Smith is being called a “game-time decision” by head coach Bobby Petrino to play on Saturday against the No.1 Florida Gators. Smith’s status remains in doubt after he tweaked his right hamstring in a Hogs win over the Auburn Tigers last weekend.

3 » Standing 6’7″ and 238 pounds, Razorbacks quarterback Ryan Mallett is an example of your prototypical NFL passer. Tim Tebow, at 6’3″ and 242 pounds, serves as more of a physical threat with his strength, but often tucks and runs when Mallett would bide more time in the pocket. To paraphrase Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel, Tebow has finally met his physical match – and polar opposite – at quarterback.

4 » Featuring former Gators National Championship and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel as host and entertainment including comedian Dana Carvey, band O.A.R. and dance troupe Jabbawockeez, the 2009 Gator Growl is looking to be a big-time hit. The world’s largest student-run pep rally is in its 86th year of existence and looks to entertain Gators fans and visitors Friday night in The Swamp!

Tags: Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn Tigers, Bobby Petrino, Carl Moore, Dana Carvey, Danny Wuerffel, Gator Growl, Heisman Trophy, Jabbawockeez, Jaye Howard, Jelani Jenkins, Jeremy Brown, Lawrence Marsh, Michael Smith, Moses Jenkins, National Championship, O.A.R., Omar Hunter, Ryan Mallett, The Swamp, Tim Tebow, Troy Epps