Tim Tebow 'Gave His Heart'
Dec. 4, 2009— -- Florida quarterback Tim Tebow's final days at the University of Florida are playing out like a high-stakes drama.
He enters Saturday's long-anticipated SEC Championship showdown against No. 2 Alabama with a 12-0 record, a third Heisman Trophy nomination and a chance to play for a repeat national title on the line.
Much has been said about Tebow's college football legacy, but his impact extends beyond teammates and those touched by his volunteer work, which include visits to inmates in a local prison and mission work in the Philippines. University of Florida students say they will miss the emotional leader who has brought awards, championships and pride to the university.
Jacki Klutcharch, 21, a UF public relations senior, has watched Tebow play since both were freshmen. At the time, Tebow was a fiery backup to former quarterback Chris Leak, sent in mainly on fourth-and-short situations and for his first, and now famous, jump pass for a touchdown against LSU.
The Gators won the BCS National Championship in 2006, but Tebow wasn't the story. He would get his own title -- and MVP honors -- in January 2009, after leading the Gators over Oklahoma, 24-14, in the BCS Championship Game.
"It's been really incredible" to watch him evolve into the team leader he is today, Klutcharch said. "He's definitely come out more as a person."
Shortly after Tebow announced in January of this year that he would return for his senior season, Klutcharch and friend Amanda Lopez, 21, an accounting senior, drafted a list detailing football-related milestones they wanted to do: attending the Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville, getting TV time on ESPN's College GameDay and nabbing a picture with Tebow.
It's been mission accomplished, so far. Klutcharch's Facebook profile boasts an arm-in-arm picture with Tebow, taken before Florida's duel with Florida International University (Florida won, 62-3) on Nov. 21.The pair waited outside a Gainesville hotel for three hours in hopes of snagging pictures before Tebow boarded a team bus. Wearing an unbuttoned collar and an untied, orange-striped tie draped around his neck, Tebow consented for the camera, she said.
