Tebow joins board of Gator Boosters club

By Jerry Hinnen | College Football Blogger June 22, 2012 6:24 pm ET

You would think Tim Tebow would have enough on his plate as the most polarizing NFL quarterback (and arguably American athlete) of his generation … and that was before his career relocated to New York City. But when it comes to the Florida Gators program that made him the superdupermegastar he is today, Tebow apparently can make the time.

Tebow appeared at a Winter Park (Fla.) board meeting of the Gator Boosters club Thursday to make an announcement that no doubt sent the Gator fans in attendance through the proverbial roof–Tebow himself has agreed to serve a one-year appointment on the Gator Boosters board.

“If you had asked me a few years ago what I thought a booster was I’d have said someone who goes to Coach Meyer and tries to talk him into running more option,” Tebow said in a story at GatorZone.com, the Florida official site. “But this truly is a blessing, being able to be a part of something that is continuing to leave a legacy.”

With current Florida coach Will Muschamp in the house, Tebow kicked off his term on the board with an hour-long keynote speech and question-and-answer session that touched on any number of subjects–including Muschamp himself.

“So [in 2007] we’re playing [Auburn, where Muschamp was defensive coordinator] and I don’t want to say that we were overlooking them ‘cause we weren’t. We trained hard for them,” Tebow said. “But he came up with a great scheme and I think during my whole career that was the least amount of points and yards ever in a game. So we have a pretty good one in Coach Muschamp. I’m glad he’s a Gator.”

Tebow added that when the topic of college programs came up, he and a certain former Notre Dame quarterback teammate — i.e., Brady Quinn — would have a few things to say to each other:

So many guys come up to me and say, ‘What’s it like to be at the University of Florida? What’s it like to be a Gator?’ The first thing I think of is, ‘Wouldn’t you like to know.’ … I had a teammate at Denver who played the same position as me and he went to the University of Notre Dame. He would brag about his university, how great it was. Most of us in the locker room were like, ‘C’mon, we all had opportunities. We chose not to go there.’ … But he talked so much about his university that it became easy. I’d say, ‘Your whole team had one guy who ran under a 5.0 40 [yard dash]. Our kicker ran under 5.0.’
If Tebow’s loyalty to his school remains as intense as it appears in quotes like that — and we don’t doubt it is — we think he’ll do just fine on the Gator Boosters board, busy schedule or not.