Florida Gators Football: How Tim Tebow's Shadow Still Looms Over Gainesville

It has now been almost a year since Tim Tebow left the University of Florida and was drafted by the Denver Broncos. 

One thing is for sure: the Gators were certainly not prepared for life without Tim Tebow.

Florida has seen itself fall from being one win away from a third National Championship during "Superman's" reign in 2009 to being a 7-5 team in 2010. The guy that replaced Tebow, John Brantley, is far from exceptional. 

In fact, if you compare Brantley's junior year to Tebow's junior year, the difference is staggering. 

Brantley threw for barely over 2,000 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. Now compare that with Tebow's junior campaign in which he threw for over 2,700 yards with 30 touchdowns and only four interceptions. 

The numbers speak for themselves.

Now also take into consideration that Urban Meyer almost left last year after the departure of Tebow, and now has announced his resignation after this year's bowl game. This leaves the post-Tebow era in a state of even more flux.

The fact of the matter is, the Gators were an above-average team before his arrival in Gainesville. During his four years at Florida they were a national power. 

Once his departure came, the team rested its hopes on a player that is not nearly the caliber Tebow was, and it is doubtful we will ever see another player that dominating in the college ranks.

The stone-cold hard truth is that Tim Tebow is arguably the best player to ever play for the Florida Gators and college football. His presence will never be equaled.