Tim Tebow as a Los Angeles Angel of Anaheim? Seems far-fetched, in hindsight, but the newest addition to the New England Patriots was once recruited by the Angels to play baseball for their organization.
Current Boston Red Sox scout, Tom Kotchman, told Boston's WWEI writer, Rob Bradford, that he wanted to draft the former Florida Gator Heisman Trophy winner - who was a three-sport star coming out of high school - had Tebow reciprocated interest in playing Major League Baseball.
"We wanted to draft him. He never sent back his information card," said Kotchman. "Who knows if it got to him, and if it did we just never got it back. Otherwise were were going to take him."
As a high school junior, Tebow played left fielder, hitting .494 with four home runs, leading his team to the final four of the state playoffs. Tebow stopped playing baseball his senior year, enrolling at the University of Florida early to focus on football.
"It was just easy for him. You thought, if this guy dedicated everything to baseball like he did to football, how good could he be?" said Red Sox Florida scout Stephen Hargett, who worked with Kotchman and the Angels. "He stood out. Right when you walked up to the field, he passed the body test. He was bigger and stronger than everybody. I think of how big he is, with an average junior or senior in high school being 5-foot-10, 160 pounds. This guy is 6-foot-4, 200 pounds."
Professional football is now Tebow's only focus, as he prepares himself for the upcoming season - latching onto his third team in as many years since being drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos with the 25th overall pick, working on his throwing mechanics and learning the New England Patriots playbook and system.
Tebow turned to former fellow 2000 Heisman Trophy winner, Chris Weinke, who runs the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., upon his release from the New York Jets, looking to improve on his mechanics and throwing motion. Weinke has worked with quarterbacks such as the Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton, Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson, Miami Dolphins' Ryan Tannehill, Cleveland Browns' Brandon Weeden, Philadelphia Eagles rookie Matt Barkley, and the New York Jets' latest draft pick, Geno Smith, helping them hone their skills as they made the leap in the pro game.
"You hope that you can create that muscle memory that will stick with him, so when he gets in the heat of the battle, those things stay true in terms of his mechanics," said Weinke. "He got better while he was down here, and I felt like the last 10 days or so, he had really honed in and was throwing the ball with a lot of confidence. Hopefully, that carries over and transfers into what he's going through in New England right now."
The move for Tebow was low risk for the Patriots - not having to worry to about a portnetials quarterback controversies (3-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady can rest assured he is the starter) as well as an NFL a two-year deal for $1.36 million with no signing bonuses, no guaranteed money and only a $25,000 workout bonus for 2014, according to ESPNBoston.com.
Thus far, the Tebow has been taking snaps with the third unit as he tries to acclimate to his new environment and may challenge Ryan Mallet for Brady's back-up position.
"Any time a new teammate comes in, you welcome him, and you try to do whatever you can to help them fit in and understand what we need to do," said Brady. "It's been a fun couple of days."
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