11:30 a.m. UF OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT “Tim Tebow Released From Hospital”
GAINESVILLE– University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was released from University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center Sunday morning after being
held overnight for precautionary reasons.
“Tim is doing fine this morning,” said head coach Urban Meyer. “His CT scans came back and indicated that Tim suffered a concussion. Our medical and athletic
training staff will continue to monitor him to determine how much rest and recovery he needs. We will have additional information and updates this week.”
(Gator Country also confirmed that Urban Meyer spent the night at the University of Kentucky Medical Center and planned to fly home with Tebow, as well as Dr. Pete Indelicato.)
Isaiah 40:31 (on Tim Tebow’s eye black)
But those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings as eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint
LEXINGTON, Ky. – On a night when he was well on his way to embellishing an already imposing legend, Tim Tebow was knocked flat, stunned by a blow to the back of his head, and left C.M. Newton Field on a cart, transported to the University of Kentucky Medical Center for overnight observation.
It was an earth-shattering moment for members of The Gator Nation both at Commonwealth Stad”ium and watching on ESPN around the country.
Equally as stunned were his coaches and fellow teammates, who stood and watched in near disbelief because they had never seen him like this, lying motionless and helpless on a football field. They prayed for him.
Urban Meyer said his legs were shaking. Offensive coordinator Steve Addazio said he had “a pit in my stomach.”
Wide receiver David Nelson couldn’t believe his eyes.
“When I first saw him get hit, I was like ‘All right Tim, get up, get up,’” said Nelson. “I thought he was going to lay there for a second and catch his breath. Then I saw the trainers run out there and I said, ‘Oh, no!’”
“I’ve never seen that guy not get up,” said backup quarterback and friend John Brantley. “And to see that once, I’m just blown back – and I’m just hoping he’s OK.”
It’s too early to speculate on how long Tebow might be held out or how serious his head injury is, but an open date next week turns out to be a blessing for the team. And coaches and players expressed confidence in Brantley if he has to play against LSU.
A hard-nosed player known for inflicting punishment on would-be tacklers, whose reputation has earned him the nickname of “Superman,” Tebow was running his 1,279th play as a runner or passer for the Florida Gators in his 38th game.
Playing in a game that he almost didn’t because of flu-like symptoms, Tebow had been on a tear. His team was leading Kentucky, 31-7, and Tebow had scored his 47th and 48th career rushing touchdowns, just one shy of tying the SEC record held by Georgia’s great Herschel Walker. Tebow also had ripped off 123 yards rushing, including a 30-yard gain that was the longest of his career.
Then late in the third quarter came the sonic boom as Tebow was leveled by Kentucky defensive end Taylor Wyndham while attempting to pass. Replays showed that as he fell to the ground, the back of Tebow’s head hit the knee of his own tackle Marcus Gilbert.
Meyer said he believed Tebow suffered a concussion. A team spokesman said Tebow was being kept in the hospital overnight for “precautionary reasons.” Another unconfirmed report stated that Tebow’s CT scan and MRI were “good” and they were awaiting results of the radiology report. Tim’s father Bob and brother Robbie were reportedly at his side.
Members of the Gator medical staff were spotted going in the entrance of the Medical Center around 1:30 a.m.
At 2 am. Sunday, several fans were milling around the hospital waiting room, several of whom asked permission to visit Tebow. “One woman wanted to go up to his room and hold his hand and pray with him,” said a security guard.
Grim as it may have looked, Tebow’s coach kept saying “he’s fine.”
“That’s one tough cat,” Meyer said of his quarterback.
Meyer said Tebow’s memory check was OK after the blow to the head and that his quarterback “never lost any feeling.” He also said that he didn’t believe Tim ever lost consciousness, “but I’m not sure.” However, Tebow did lie flat of his back for about two minutes without moving his legs or arms.
Finally, after the medical staff attended to him, Tebow sat up for a moment, left the field with assistance and sat on a table while being checked by doctors. And he began conversing.
This is conversation that went on between the quarterback and his head coach while they were still on the field, according to Meyer:
“I grabbed his hand and he grabbed my hand and I looked at him and I said ‘How you doin’?’ and he said, ‘Good.’ And he asked me, ‘Did I hold onto the ball?’ Typical Tebow. And he said, ‘What play was that?’ And I said, ‘Stick Lion.’ And he said, ‘OK.’ Then I looked at him and said, ‘It’s great to be a Florida Gator.’ And he said, ‘It’s great to be a Florida Gator.’”
Wyndham, a 6-4, 230-pound redshirt freshman from Swansea, S.C., came flying through the air from Tebow’s left side as the senior left-hander was winding up to throw, caching him flush under the chin.
As he fell to the ground, Tebow managed to tuck the ball to his chest. When his helmet hit Gilbert’s knee and finally his body hit the ground, he still had possession of the ball. It eventually came out and Kentucky recovered. But a replay showed it was not a fumble and Caleb Sturgis would later kick a field goal to increase the Florida lead to 34-7.
Everybody on the Florida team, including Meyer, was visibly shaken at the sight. His players kept coming up to Urban and asking, “How’s Tim? How’s Tim!?”
“That was like my son,” said Meyer. “Imagine your son laying on the ground. My knees were shaking.”
Tebow finally did stand up to the applause of mostly Kentucky patrons and walked to the sideline under his own power, escorted under the watchful eye of several helpers.
However later, once he sat on a table with the medical staff, a towel draped over his head, Tebow became nauseated. He vomited as he left early in the fourth quarter on a cart which took him to a waiting ambulance.
Given his bout with respiratory problems earlier in the week — he and other infected players flew on a separate planes – one might wonder why Tebow was still in the game at that point. I asked Meyer if he was thinking at the time about taking Tebow out, what with a 31-7 lead and what looked like might be another touchdown or at least field goal on the way. “it was getting close,” he said.
But, then, the only way Tebow was going to miss this game was if he was injured, because he made it known despite missing two days of practice with respiratory problems he intended to start the game and play.
“Tim, you’d have to shoot him to keep him out,” said Meyer.
Once Brantley took over he looked confident and moved the team in for a score on an 8-yard toss to Riley Cooper.
The three-touchdown favorite Gators had arrived on three different planes as doctors tried to isolate those who were showing signs of illness. Much mystery surrounded the game as to who would play and who wouldn’t. Wildcat fans were pretty sure they knew.
“Well of course he’s going to play,” said the woman with the Kentucky blue jersey, tailgating just outside Commonwealth Stadium. “He played once in a high school game with a broken leg! Hello?!”
The microscopic details of Tebow’s legend aren’t lost on opposing fans, even up here in the heart of horse and roundball country.
Indeed, he did play. And oh how he was playing! On a night when some people had feared that Tebow’s only connection might be to an IV on a hospital bed, Tebow had come out smokin’ in maybe the best first quarter he ever played, a performance that only enhanced his legacy.
Ironically, it was not the flu which brought him down, or even an opposing tackler who took him out – but rather the blow from a knee of his own teammate, Gilbert. Wyndham no doubt left the game thinking it was his hard tackle that kayoed Tebow.
Urban Meyer has often used the metaphor of a boxer getting knocked down and then having to get up to win. In this particular case, his own quarterback will be living that metaphor these next few days and weeks, even if he was brought down by friendly fire.