Tim Tebow: Does Collegiate Success Point to NFL Success with the Denver Broncos?

Denver Broncos fans are hoping that Tim Tebow continues walking down his path of glory, which he began at the University of Florida.

His list of accolades could certainly fill the body of this article, and his crown jewel, the Heisman Trophy, speaks for itself.

If the Heisman Trophy could talk, though, what would it say to the players who win it?

What would it say to those lucky fans that can boast a former Heisman winner on their roster?

To the player, it might say, “Enjoy it, because this may be the last trophy you ever win!”

To the fans, it would simply say, “Buyer Beware.”

Now that Reggie Bush has been magically erased from the Heisman record books, there are only two players in the last 20 years to win both the Heisman Trophy and the Super Bowl in their career (so far).

Neither are quarterbacks.

In fact, quarterbacks, more than any other position, might want to consider declining their invitation to the Downtown Athletic Club.

The percentage of quarterbacks who have won the Heisman and have gone on to successful careers is so staggeringly low that it could almost be grounds for automatic termination of an executive or coach who suggests selecting a Heisman-winning signal-caller at all.

The only good news is that the bar is set so low—that Tebow need not do much in order to shake the stigma attached to Heisman QBs.

Just win one Super Bowl, and third place is all but guaranteed. That seat of honor is just behind Jim Plunkett and Roger Staubach, who both managed to win two.

Now, to be fair, it must be stated that Tebow is not alone in this quest. Sam Bradford is on a mission to break the “Heisman Hex” as well.

Some might say that Bradford is well on his way, considering he has added an NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year trophy to his case already.

Still, Bradford was far more NFL ready coming out of college than Tebow in terms of throwing mechanics. So, in some respects, his performance should not come as a huge shock.

In truth, most NFL executives have minimized the risk by taking Heisman winners in the third round or later. However, based on the performance of many of them, there was no cause for them to be drafted at all.

The news gets worse when it comes to another of Tebow’s proudest achievements. Winning a national championship is quite possibly even more of a death sentence for quarterbacks than winning the Heisman.

Again, Tebow will not have to do much to distance himself from names like Krenzel, Dorsey and Russell. Tebow already has more career starts and touchdowns than most on this list.

In the end, what do the NFL careers of other college quarterbacks who share similar credentials to Tebow mean?

Absolutely nothing.

They are nothing more than fodder for discussion and interesting coincidences. Trying to predict how Tebow will fare with the Broncos based on how Danny Wuerffel did with the New Orleans Saints is fruitless.

The only thing those two players have in common is a University of Florida jersey hanging in a shadow box above a Heisman Trophy in their den.

If winning a Heisman or a national championship is a prerequisite to being a Super Bowl champion, nobody bothered to mention that to Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.

The characteristics of a person are about the only thing that remains the same during the college to NFL transition. So Tebow fans can certainly hang their hats on that fact.

They may want to be wary, however, of pointing to his college trophy case when it comes to predicting future NFL success.