Gators Nation Gets Major Scare From Tim Tebow Head Injury

The Kentucky defensive lineman barreled around the down blocking offensive lineman. He was a train, rumbling down the track toward an unsuspecting bull.

The collision was legal, violent and sent the great Tim Tebow to the hospital. Kentucky fans and players celebrated taking down Enemy No. 1.

After being beaten for four years by Tebow and falling behind 31-0 after one quarter (with three touchdowns by Tebow), they wanted their pound of flesh.

Tim didn't move. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Tebow delivers the blows, receives the blows but always gets up. Always.

He laid there, sprawled on the field, seemingly unconscious (although Florida coach Urban Meyer said later he didn't believe Tebow lost consciousness). Offensive lineman slumped around him. Trainers raced on to the field faster than Percy Harvin.

Tim didn't move. Superman was down. In the stands, a young Gator hugged his mother. Women wept. Men stood stunned as their hero, perhaps the greatest Gator in history laid motionless on the field.

Even the Kentucky faithful who were cheering the hit moments before drew silent as they realized Tebow wasn't getting up.

Urban Meyer raced on to the field and asked Tim how he was doing. Tebow said fine and then asked, "Did I hold on to the ball?" Typical Tebow.

Before the vicious blow, Tebow battled an upper respiratory illness that required him and several teammates with similar ailments to take a separate plane to Lexington. There was doubt he'd even play.

With the Gators sick, coming off a hard fought win against rival Tennessee and with a critical road game at LSU this one had the makings of a trap game.

All the Gators did was score 31 in the first quarter to end such talk. Tebow was phenomenal. Battling through the sickness, he attempted only ten passes, completing five for 103 yards and a touchdown. It was the running of Tebow that proved to be unstoppable for Kentucky. 

Tebow pounded the ball 16 times for 123 yds and two touchdowns, moving him within one score of the great Georgia running back Hershel Walker's record of 49 rushing touchdowns.

Florida coach Urban Meyer was close to pulling Tebow as his last series moved into the Kentucky red zone again. Another Florida score would have put them up by 31 points, safe enough to put in the backups and coast to another lopsided win over Kentucky.

Then Superman went down.

With the entire Gator squad on the field and assembled around him, Tebow wobbly struggled to his feet and Gator Nation exhaled.

Battling sickness and symptoms of a concussion, the Florida medical staff decided to be safe and had Tebow transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation.

Florida would go on to win 41-7, but that didn't seem to matter any more.

It seems fortune is smiling on the Gators as they get a badly needed bye week before heading to the unfriendly confines of Baton Rouge. Tebow will get a chance to recover, while his teammates get a chance to shake their flu-like symptoms.

Still, it was sobering for Gator Nation to realize that Tim Tebow is indeed a human being. He wasn't indestructible. There was kryptonite for Superman. It turned out to be made of an unblocked Kentucky defensive lineman.

Florida coach Urban Meyer was asked if he considered not playing Tebow against Kentucky because of the illness.

"To keep Tim out of a game, you'll have to shoot him," Urban said.

Something tells me though that when Florida takes the field in LSU, Tim Tebow will be leading the charge.