Urban Meyer Names the Greatest Player in College Football History

Former college football head coach Urban Meyer has never been shy about where Tim Tebow ranks in the history of the sport. On a recent episode of The Triple Option, the three-time national championship coach made the case for his former quarterback again. This time, the focus shifted to managing the circus that surrounded Tebow's storied Florida career.

Meyer called Tebow "a very polarizing figure," which was meant as a compliment. Because in the same breath the former Florida coach said Tebow "was the best player in college football history."

In addition, Meyer noted that the attention Tebow drew was unlike anything he had seen during his head-coaching stops at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State.

The conversation revealed something that doesn't usually come up when discussing Tebow's legacy: it wasn't the quarterback who needed managing.

Meyer on Tebow's media coverage and team dynamic

When Rob Stone asked Meyer whether he worried about all the national attention affecting Tebow, the 61-year-old brushed the question off.

"No, not (for) Tim at all," Meyer said on The Triple Option. "I worried about the other players on the team. There was not much going to take his focus off being a great player."

#WendysPartner Coach Meyer: "Tim Tebow was the greatest player in college football history, but he would say he isn't the only great player on the team." @Wendys pic.twitter.com/tQ0h7N4O3b
— The Triple Option (@3xOptionShow) June 11, 2026

Meyer described Tebow as someone who was almost immune to the outside noise, whether it be Sports Illustrated covers or a national media machine that never let up. The concern was always the locker room around him, not the signal-caller at the center of it all.

It is a useful lens for understanding why those Florida teams were so dominant. Meyer was managing not just a football roster but an entire ecosystem of attention.

Tebow's college legacy and what made it unmatched

This isn't the first time Meyer has gone on record calling Tebow the best college football player ever.

On a 2020 CBS Sports call that also included then-Florida coach Dan Mullen, Meyer recalled the final minutes of the 2009 BCS Championship Game, arm around Tebow with the Gators clinging to a three-point lead over Oklahoma, and said: "At that moment, who else would you want? I'm very biased. I know he's on the call. But he's the best college football player of all-time."

Mullen echoed Meyer's sentiment: "He's the greatest college football player in the history of the game... And he is because of the resume. If you look at the career he had, I don't know if you'll see it ever again."

Former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow during his induction into the Ring of Honor at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and was part of Florida's national championship teams in 2006 and 2008. He was named MVP of the 2009 BCS title game, passing for 231 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 109 yards in the Gators' 24-14 win over Oklahoma.

He threw for 9,285 yards and 88 touchdowns across four seasons while rushing for 2,947 yards and 57 touchdowns, both school records for a Florida quarterback and owns five NCAA, 14 SEC and 28 University of Florida records.

Florida went 48-7 during Tebow's time in Gainesville, and the Gators became the first FBS program to record back-to-back 13-win seasons. He was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Florida Ring of Honor. Tebow is the standard by which every college quarterback since has been measured.

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