Urban Meyer recalls story from Tim Tebow recruitment

You cannot tell the story of Florida football without Tim Tebow. A two-time national championship-winning quarterback who also has a Heisman Trophy to his name, the Urban Meyer era was molded around his success. And for just a moment, Meyer thought Tebow was going to play his college football elsewhere.

Meyer was on his way to visit Tebow in person, being a standard recruiting visit. However, Florida was thought to be playing catch up, with Alabama being considered the favorite to land Tebow. Meyer was ready to concede in the battle and was beginning to draw up a backup plan.

Thankfully for Meyer, Greg Madison was there to save the day. Meyer’s former right-hand man laid out how big of a loss Tebow would be for the program. The Gators had to land the quarterback. Otherwise, things may have gone south quickly.

“Greg Madison and I are on the plane,” Meyer said. “I remember, already in my mind convinced myself if we lost Tim. And there was a junior college quarterback, I was already set with Doc Holliday, we were set to go see this player because in my mind, we lost Tim to Alabama. I’m getting on the plane with Greg Madison… I looked at him and said ‘We’re going to be okay. I have a plan in case Tim goes to Alabama.’

“I started explaining this plan, he puts his hand up, and said ‘Coach, if we lose Tim Tebow to Alabama, that will set the program back 10 years.’ I got so pissed because I knew he was right.”

Of course, Tebow wound up choosing Florida over Alabama and having an abundance of success. There is a different world where the Crimson Tide wins the recruitment and the scheme of college football changes.

Alabama wound up with Greg McElroy in their 2006 recruiting class. He, like Tebow, won a national championship and got the ball rolling on the dominant dynasty under head coach Nick Saban.

I think the people of Gainesville and Tuscaloosa were happy with how everything turned out. A rare win-win scenario for both programs.

There might even be more to the story than what Meyer offered here. A documentary about the 2006-2009 Florida Gators, titled “Swamp Kings” will be released in the near future. At times when recruiting battles can get intense, Meyer will be glad the Tebow one worked out in his favor.