Tebow adds Wuerffel Trophy to collection of honors

By David Moorman  |   Monday, February 23, 2009  |  Comments( 1 )

College Football
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In a ceremonial week throughout the Southeastern Conference, Florida junior quarterback Tim Tebow won yet another award, while two programs unaccustomed to postseason success made the most of their newfound prominence.

Vanderbilt honored its bowl team at halftime of a basketball game with Kentucky, while the Mississippi State Legislature recognized coach Houston Nutt for having guided the Rebels to a Cotton Bowl victory.

Until beating Boston College in the Music City Bowl, Vanderbilt hadn’t won a bowl game since 1955. As for Ole Miss, it hadn’t appeared in a bowl since 2003.

Tebow is much more familiar, and deserving of acclaim. Having fallen short in his bid to win a second consecutive Heisman Trophy, Tebow came out first in the race to win the Wuerffel Trophy. He received his latest honor from the All Sports Association in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

While it is a lesser known award named for another Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from Florida, Tebow’s latest honor is no less noteworthy.

Bearing the name of Danny Wuerffel, who won the 1996 Heisman, the Wuerffel Trophy rewards community service, academic achievement and academic prowess.

Tebow’s athletic feats already are legendary and earned him the Manning Award and a second consecutive Maxwell Award this past season.

In leading Florida to its second national championship in three years, Tebow completed 192 of 298 passes for 2,746 yards and 30 touchdowns with four interceptions. He also topped the Gators in rushing with 176 carries for 673 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Tebow holds a 3.70 grade-point average that has earned him ESPN.com Academic All-America first-team and SEC Academic Honor Roll status each of the last two years.

His community service extends worldwide and included work as a missionary in the Philippines during spring break last year. He also spoke at a business conference in Croatia and received an invitation from the International Mission Board to speak to missionaries in South Asia.

As a member of Florida’s Goodwill Gators program, Tebow has made numerous hospital visits throughout the Gainesville area, where he also has attended a host of community service functions.
He’s been known to schedule hospital visits in his hometown of Jacksonville, Fla., and has spoken at prisons throughout the state. He organized a flag football tournament last April to raise awareness for orphans in Gainesville and throughout the world.

Tebow is the fourth Wuerffel Trophy recipient and the second from the SEC. Former LSU offensive lineman Rudy Niswanger won the first trophy in 2005.
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About David Moorman

Dave Moormann is an award-winning journalist, who has covered LSU athletics since 1980. He began his coverage with the Baton Rouge Advocate, where he was a writer and editor from 1980-98. In 1996, he authored a book on the history of LSU football entitled, "Fighting Tigers Handbook: Stories, Stats ...
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