Choosing sides

Published 9:50 pm Thursday, December 4, 2008

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida quarterback Tim Tebow remembers sitting in Bryant-Denny stadium in October 2005, waving to the crowd as thousands of Alabama fans chanted his name.

The Crimson Tide wanted Tebow. Then-coach Mike Shula needed him. The Gators got him.

Even though Tebow grew up cheering for Florida — both parents graduated from there and the family attended games regularly — his decision between Tuscaloosa and Gainesville was tougher than reading defenses in the Southeastern Conference.

Tebow has no regrets, but that doesn’t mean he won’t look around the Georgia Dome on Saturday, when No. 2 Florida (11-1) plays top-ranked Alabama (12-0) in the SEC title game, and wonder what things would be like had he chosen the Tide over the Gators.

“A lot of things would be different,” Tebow said. “I really liked coach Shula. I liked what he stood for on and off the field. I liked everything about their program and the passion that their fans have for football and how big it is there, because I’m very passionate about it as well. I thought it was just a great fit, and I liked him, and I thought it would be great playing for him.”

It almost happened.

Tebow was sold on Alabama after his official visit. The campus was beautiful, the football program had a seemingly endless amount of tradition and Shula shared similar religious beliefs as Tebow. He was equally impressed by those fans who treated him like a celebrity even though most of them had never seen him play a down.

“It was cool,” Tebow said. “It was something that kind of takes your breath away, at least it did mine. The fans were absolutely so passionate, and that’s something I love because, as everybody knows, I’m very passionate about what I do. How much the state and everybody loved football, I thought that was really cool and it drew me to that place.”

Florida was pulling him, too.

Tebow’s wardrobe was filled with orange and blue, he grew up watching Steve Spurrier’s wide-open passing attack and idolized 1996 Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel. The campus was a little more than an hour’s drive from home, meaning friends and family could see him play all the time, and Urban Meyer’s spread-option offense seemed like a perfect fit for the 6-foot-3, 240-pound left-hander who enjoyed running over linebackers as much as he did throwing passes all over the field.

But Meyer, whose team got stomped 31-3 in Tuscaloosa while Tebow watched from the stands, never felt like he had the upper hand in the recruiting battle.

“You can say he’s a Gator, but he’s a relationship person and he had a very, very good, long relationship with the previous staff and coach, and obviously Alabama is a fine place,” Meyer said. “I would say we were behind most of the time in the recruiting effort. I’m just glad we got him.”