Dan Mullen recalls iconic Tim Tebow vs. Cam Newton tug-of-war story from Florida

The stories around the Florida football team from 2006 to 2008 are legendary. Documentaries have been made about them, with Tim Tebow a major fixture and focus in that timeframe.

At the time, Dan Mullen was the offensive coordinator for the Gators. Now the UNLV head coach, fresh off a gig as an ESPN analyst, Mullen opened up on one part of Gators lore from that era: a famous tug-of-war battle between two all-time greats.

“The greatest tug-of-war story of all times,” Mullen said on the See Ball Get Ball podcast with David Pollack. “If you know them, I’m at Florida, they’ve got quarterback on quarterback going. Cam Newton against Tim Tebow. OK? You guys know Tim well. He does not take losing very well. For being the greatest human being walking on the face of the earth today, he really does not take losing well. Right? And we’re out there for the tug-of-war and he would very rarely lose to anyone.”

At Florida in its hey day, champions could be knocked off by other champions. That was just the nature of the recruiting Urban Meyer did at the time. It was the epitome of an all-alpha dynamic. So back to the tug-of-war.

“We’re out there one day and Cam dragged him around that turf,” Mullen said of Tim Tebow. “He might get mad for me telling this story. The one rule is you don’t let go of that rope. I don’t care if you get dragged around, you just don’t let go of the rope. And Cam was kind of taunting him, dragging. I was like, ‘Better get in the locker room afterwards because this could get ugly fast.'”

Of course, things wouldn’t work out for Newton at Florida. As Tebow cemented himself as one of the greatest players of all time, Newton left for junior college and then Auburn.

Both players would win a Heisman Trophy. And, to this day, Mullen swears by that tug-of-war as a way of creating camaraderie and fierce competitors like Tim Tebow.

“Every thing you do, there’s a purpose,” Mullen said. “The tug-of-war I think’s one of the greatest ones. We go one-on-one on the rope, just on tug-of-war. And I’ve got my strength coach looking at me like the purpose of this drill is what? The purpose of the drill is you don’t let go of the rope, no matter what happens.”