By Paul M. Banks
No prospective 3rd-6th round NFL Draft pick has been as publicized or as scrutinized as ex-Florida QB Tim Tebow. From Senior Day to the Combine to his own personal workouts, no other potential NFL Draft pick as received even a miniscule fraction of the coverage that Tebow has. And certainly no player projected to be as drafted as low as Tebow received even 1/1,000,000 of the publicity that Tebow has inspired. And it all makes perfect sense given that no college athlete in history has garnered the unconditional love from the media that Tebow has.
But all that positive publicity still hasn’t sold the Jacksonville Jaguars ticket-buying fanbase.
Many NFL insiders believe a team in the state of Florida could draft Tebow, because his hero status in the sunshine state might help sell tickets. Jacksonville could certainly use some help putting people in the seats, but the season ticket holders don’t seem to be in favor of that.
Jaguars general manager Gene Smith told us this week that a poll of 800 Jags season ticket holders, 55 percent voted against the idea of the team drafting Tim Tebow. In ANY round of the draft.
A few months ago, Jacksonville owner Wayne Weaver said he’d love to make Tebow a Jaguar if his presence would pack ’em in. He even compared Tebow to Brett Favre and the Minnesota situations. I guess the fans don’t see it that way. And they aren’t impressed by Tebow’s dedication to re-working his mechanics.