Tebow Stumbles In First Senior Bowl Practice

Sports News - January 26th, 2010 - Written By Bryan

Tim Tebow's expedition to the NFL has suddenly become the soup de jour this week as he endures his first face-to-face audition with scouts at the Senior Bowl. As one of the most intriguing, and potentially radioactive candidates at quarterback, he ranges anywhere from the first round to the sixth as a signal caller, and this week's practices will go a long way in determining where he will line up next season.

But his mechanics and accuracy took a backseat Monday because the former Heisman winner had trouble even getting into a throwing motion during the first practice.

Per ProFootballTalk, Tebow fumbled his very first snap under center, and botched several more center-quarterback exchanges throughout the day.

Tebow almost exclusively played out of the shotgun with the Florida Gators during his four-year career in NCAA Football.

"First impression from NFL folks on Tebow at Senior Bowl," ESPN's Chris Mortensen Tweeted. "It is indeed going to be a challenging process for him."

Even more spectators continued to pile dirt. St. Petersburg Times beat writer Stephen Holder Tweeted: "I'm on the sideline at the Senior Bowl practice and let's just say Tim Tebow is not exactly lighting it up. Horrible mechanics and accuracy."

It took a while for Tebow to even commit to the All-Star game as he weighed his options and risks for showing off his wares live to scouts who ruthlessly scrutinize every move. He ultimately chose to play only a few weeks ago because it was perceived he had a whole lot to prove to become a high pick, and needed to prove he could take a snap under center, back pedal, and assess the defense as it unfolds.

Some in the camp, however, thought Tebow performed relatively well. Former teammate, and roommate, Riley Cooper told reporters he felt his batterymate threw clean, crisp balls his way and that nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

"I thought he did really well," Cooper said. "The passes to me were good except one when he got hit in the back. Other than that, I thought he did well. He did a good job under center. He looked crisp."

Tebow's biggest obstacle will likely be people's personal perceptions him and the media scrutiny either way.

Those who already find him unfavorable will continue to find holes, while those who want him to succeed will look for signs of progress and run with it. After all, everyone wants to have claim to foresight and say they knew it all along, whichever outcome turns to be true, and they will likely process information that validates their own view quicker.

Thus making the Tebow saga only thicker until his name is actually called.