(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

As it stands now, the football world is preparing itself for one of the greatest debates of all time. 

It's still 11 months away, but experts, fans, general managers, and coaches alike are all going to weigh in on one question: What in the world is going to happen to Tim Tebow in the National Football League?

Currently, Tebow is one of the most decorated athletes in college football history. He has captured two National Championships as a Florida Gator and a Heisman Trophy to boot. He has a chance to surpass all others in the discussion should he accomplish either of those feats again this season.

However, like many other great college stars, it won't necessarily equate to success at the next level, right? Keep reading.

It's a sad fact, but the NFL may disregard what Tebow has done on the field due to the professional struggles of another man, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith. 

Smith played collegiately at Utah under current Florida head coach Urban Meyer. See where this is going? 

Smith was a stud for the Utes and at 20 years old was the first overall selection of the 2005 NFL draft.

Smith, like Tebow, played in Meyer's spread offense that requires the quarterback to take most snaps out of the shotgun. It also puts a lot of emphasis on a signal-caller's running ability. 

When Smith got to the 49ers, he had to be taught to run an offense from under center, which is a more difficult transition than one would imagine.  Smith actually fumbled the first snap he attempted in this traditional sense in his first practice as a 49er.

So the question is, why would somebody take a chance on Tebow as a quarterback when it is clear as day that Smith has been a bust to this point? 

True, Tebow has been even more successful than Smith was in Meyer's offense, but the fact remains: Tebow might still be a gamble for an NFL team.

So where do the Miami Dolphins come in to play?  Here it goes.

In 2007, Arkansas offensive coordinator Steve Bush continued to run the offense installed by his predecessor Gus Malzahn (currently holding the same position at Auburn). 

The offense, known in Arkansas as the "Wild Hog," featured running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones often lining up in the shotgun, confusing defenses as to where the play would go. Sometimes they would run, sometimes they would hand it off to another player, and sometimes they would pass. 

This would land McFadden, also known as Run DMC, as back-to-back Heisman runner-up and also a spot on the cover of NCAA Football 2009. Both backs were drafted in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft. McFadden went fourth overall to the Oakland Raiders and Jones 22nd to the Dallas Cowboys.

Bush left Arkansas to become quarterbacks coach of the Dolphins, serving under offensive coordinator Dan Henning. In 2006, Henning, then offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, attempted to run a similar formation to that of the Arkansas offense. He used running back DeAngelo Williams, but the experiment lasted just one drive. 

This formation did not return to the NFL until 2008, when Henning and Bush may have changed the way offense as we know it is played.

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