2010 NFL Combine Report: Tim Tebow (VIDEO)

Video: Tim Tebow answers questions about being willing to play other positions in the NFL, possibly riding the bench early in his NFL career, and about what it’s like to have the media turn on him like a political candidate.

Yeah, that guy.

He’s the biggest story in recent draft memory. Ndamukong Suh may be largely considered the better prospect, and Sam Bradford may very well end up as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft after weighing in at 20 pounds of muscle more than his former playing weight of 216. But nobody, I mean nobody, brings a crowd like Tim Tebow.

Let me set this up first. You walk into the media room at Lucas Oil Stadium and the first thing you notice are two white boards. One contains a schedule of press conferences by coaches, general managers, and NFL Network personalities. The other contains a list of the prospects who may or may not appear for interviews on that given day. Basically, you can plan to interview a coach, but you’ve got to be in the building all day if you want a guaranteed shot at interviewing a specific player.

Without a doubt, it’s the world’s greatest waiting room. Instead of Sports Illustrated magazines with articles from six months ago, there are literal giants of the sport waiting to talk about their futures.

Anyway, I’m getting off point. Once you’re in the media room, there are three podiums and eight circular tables-for-six. Coaches/GMs/TV Insiders are always at podium A. The brand name prospects (the Suh, Gerald McCoys, Tebows, etc.) alternate between podiums B and C. And the tables are reserved for the little guys. Well, relatively little.

You’re at the mercy of the PA announcer. Every 20 minutes or so, you’ll hear “Prospect X from school X is now at Podium/Table A/B/C/1/2/3…” And when he calls a name that piques your interest, the combine adds a new event — the reporter 40 foot dash.

So, as I’m sure you can imagine, when the words “Some guy named Tebow is now at Podium C” crackled through the speakers, the snapping of digital recorders into the on position and the undressing of pen caps nearly drowned out the message. Maybe that’s how I was able to stand front and center for Tebow’s press conference. The one that came mere seconds after hearing a cameraman groan that the former University of Florida star was nowhere to be found.

I was fortunate enough to squeeze in two questions.

1. Were you asked to or did you change your throwing motion from high school to college?

2. How often did you have to throw to a receiver that wasn’t your primary target on that play?

His answers? “No, not really” to the first. And a knowing laugh to the second before explaining “that you can’t play quarterback if you never go beyond your first read.”

Some of you know that I’m higher on Tebow as an NFL prospect than most. Maybe more so than any. I even like him as a quarterback for Josh McDaniels. Let him learn for a year behind Orton. And that’s why I asked the second question. For years I’ve heard the argument that Tebow’s offense somehow allowed him to become immensely successful without ever asking him to make more than one decision per play. And like Tebow said, it’s impossible.

So, please, make up your own mind about Tim Tebow the NFL quarterback. Laugh at him. Join the throngs of naysayers who seem strangely gleeful about his possible failure. Just be prepared to eat your words. This is a guy who’s willing to do anything for his team. A guy who will fight, claw, scrape and give every ounce of himself to lead his team to paydirt. Basically, he’s an NFL quarterback.

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