Tim Tebow selected as Heisman Trophy finalist

By Adam Silverstein
December 7, 2009

Florida Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow was named as one of five finalists for the 2009 Heisman Trophy on Monday. Only the second player in history to be a finalist for the award three times (Herschel Walker, 1980-82), Tebow will compete against running backs Mark Ingram (Alabama Crimson Tide) and Toby Gerhart (Stanford Cardinal), defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska Cornhuskers) and QB Colt McCoy (Texas Longhorns). Tebow won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and finished third in 2008 but is not projected to be in the top three this season.

“Having the chance to go back to New York means a lot to me,” Tebow said. “It is a special honor but it wouldn’t be possible for me to have this opportunity without my teammates and coaches.”

The 2009 winner will be announced at the Nokia Theatre in New York, NY, on Saturday, Dec. 12. Prior to the Heisman ceremony, Tebow will be up for the Maxwell Award (best college football player) and Davey O’Brien Award (best college quarterback), both of which will be presented on Thursday night. Tebow has won back-to-back Maxwell Awards (one of only two players to do so) and took home the Davey O’Brien Award in 2007. He has already won the Academic All-America of the Year for the second consecutive season, the first student-athlete ever to do so.

2 Comments

gatormiami says:

December 7, 2009 at 7:38 pm

Tebow should decline tha invitation. He deserved to win last year & received the most first place votes, but placed 3rd. THIRD??? Yes, Many Tebow haters left him off the ballot last year & would have done the same this year regardless of on-field results. They could have found a way to justify their votes. In the Gator system Tebow could NEVER have won the Heisman,even with the finest performance this season. TT likely ends up #4… East Coast supports Ingram; Plains/SW favor McCoy-Suh; West sides with Gerhart. Tebow will receive some votes, but will be left off of many ballots altogether. (“The Alabama game proved he didn’t belong in the balloting.” Yet how many clammored that he should have won last year after soundly defeating Bradford on the field?)

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Adam Silverstein says:

December 7, 2009 at 8:36 pm

Declining the invitation is not in his nature – that would be rude. Yes, Tebow got completely screwed over for the Heisman last year – but it was not because of “haters,” it was because almost all of the midwest votes left Tebow completely off the ballot in favor of voting Bradford-McCoy-Harrell in some form or another. Tebow should be a two-time Heisman winner.

Back to this year, I think Tebow could/will actually finish 5th. If I had a Heisman vote, it would be:

1. Suh
2. Ingram
3. Tebow

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