Tebow's pre-Wonderlic prayer request falls flat
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... alls-flat/

Posted by Mike Florio on March 23, 2010 7:20 PM ET
As we've mentioned once or twice, quarterback Tim Tebow's habit of openly expressing his religious beliefs could potentially rub folks the wrong way, especially in a locker room of grown men who choose to keep their beliefs to themselves, who don't share his beliefs at all, and/or who only want to hear "God bless" after they have sneezed.

We're told that Tebow already has gotten a taste of the resistance he might face at the next level.

At the Scouting Combine, the Wonderlic exam is administered to players in groups. The 12-minute test is preceded by some brief instructions and comments from the person administering the test.

Per a league source, after the person administering the test to Tebow's group had finished, Tebow made a request that the players bow their heads in prayer before taking the 50-question exam.

Said one of the other players in response: "Shut the f--k up." Others players in the room then laughed.

We're not passing judgment on this one; we're just passing along what we've heard. And it illustrates the type of challenges that could be faced by the team that drafts Tebow.

That said, some teams might embrace those challenges. The final decision will depend largely on the composition of the team, and the personalities of the coach, the G.M., and the owner.

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I'm probably going to hell for it but I was hoping against all hope that somebody said exactly that, and when I read it, I still chuckled evilly(?) to myself and smiled. And I Like Tebow as a Leader/Player.

I Can picture it in my Head clear as day. Just Awesome.

I agree with DJ-B, I'd have said something too. Religious beliefs are personal and publicizing it is bad enough, but some people just force others and there is every reason to contest that kind of things.

And, that story is definitely funny.

The Lions need to find out who told Tebow to STFU and draft him.

Tebow denies Wonderlic incident
Posted by Mike Florio on March 24, 2010 6:04 PM ET
So I had a telephone conversation today with quarterback Tim Tebow.

Ever heard of him?

He reached out, via agent Jimmy Sexton, in response to Tuesday night's story regarding the incident during the Wonderlic testing at the Scouting Combine. As a league source told us, Tebow said something in the testing room about saying a prayer. And then another player said something in response. And then some of the other players laughed.

But Tebow says it didn't happen.

"Not one single word of it is true," Tebow told me.

Tebow has a very genuine and disarming way about him. There's an innocence and kindness in his voice that conflicts with the image of a highly successful college quarterback, who was arguably one of the best college football players of all time.

He was nevertheless firm and resolute in his denial.

"One of the number one things for me is being someone of character and when I say something people can take it to the bank," Tebow said. "That story is absolutely not true."

Tebow then named several of the other players who were in the room, and he invited me to check his version with each of them.

Tebow explained that he said nothing to the group of roughly 100 players, and he said that he spoke only to BYU quarterback Max Hall.

After talking to Tebow, I immediately contacted the source for the story, who agreed with my assessment that Tebow is "the real deal." But the source didn't back down.

It's possible that Tebow made a comment intended for Hall that was overheard by another player, who then made a profane comment in response that was not heard by Tebow. Still, Sexton told me in a follow-up e-mail that Tebow "never said anything remotely close" to what had been attributed to him.

We'll keep digging on this one. We're confident that our source didn't make it up, but we were impressed by Tebow's willingness to reach out and explain his position. Though I'm usually even more skeptical when someone tells me multiple times in a seven-minute conversation that he always tells the truth, when Tebow said it I believed it.

That said, there has to be a way to harmonize the two stories. Tebow believes he's telling the truth, and I believe our source. We'll keep after this one and report back when we have more.

That's something to be proud of. Hell won't be the picnic people seem to think it will be.

Actually, I heard it's an island with Evangeline Lilly on it. Count me in

Much to your guys dismay... Tim Tebow will not be there on draft day...