Tim Tebow and the Jets may have lost a heartbreaker to the Patriots on Sunday, but the dual-threat quarterback's weekend was hardly a washout, thanks to the first school at which he starred.
As reported by the Jacksonville Times-Union, Nease (Fla.) High officially retired Tebow's number 5 jersey on Friday night, becoming the first school to officially take his digit off the team's squad list. If you're confused as to why Nease would retire number 5 in honor of Tebow, don't worry, there wasn't a mistake; Tebow switched from number 5 to number 15 when he played in college at Florida.
Now, Tebow is serving as a part-time signal-caller for the Jets, waiting behind former USC star Mark Sanchez while Jets fans continue to wait impatiently for Tebow's time to come.
Tebow's former school apparently drew some inspiration from the honor being bestowed upon him on Friday, with the Panthers rolling to a 43-13 victory against Jacksonville (Fla.) Menendez High.
The legacy Tebow left behind at Nease was just the first chapter in the mythology that now surrounds him, but it was a stirring one nonetheless. In his junior year the home-schooled quarterback passed for more than 4,000 yards and rushed for more than 1,000, racking up a combined 73 touchdowns in the process.
As a senior he led the school to its first-ever state title, bringing the pinnacle of prep football to Nease as a departing gift.
Everyone knows what happened next, with the unorthodox passer earning two national titles and a Heisman trophy during a four-year career at the University of Florida.
Whether Tebow ever reaches those championship heights at the professional level remains to be seen, but no struggles on the Jets or Tebow's part could ever cheapen his remarkable prep accomplishments, which now have been adequately honored by the school for which he first donned a football jersey.
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