Jets QB Tim Tebow thrown in with first-string offense - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com

Frances Micklow/The Star-LedgerJets quarterback Tim Tebow (15) talks to wide receiver Santonio Holmes (10) during Jets mini camp Wednesday in Florham Park.

The Jets’ first public practice since they acquired Tim Tebow ended yesterday with the backup quarterback taking a pair of snaps with the first-string offense.

One was a completion out of the shotgun, a play in which Tebow managed to elude a rush from outside linebacker Aaron Maybin; the other play, from under center, resulted in an incompletion.

Although he admitted the first-string exposure was something he’d never done as a backup in Denver â€" and despite coach Rex Ryan insisting earlier yesterday that Mark Sanchez would take all the snaps with the first-string offense â€" Tebow said what happened yesterday wasn’t unusual with the Jets.

“Not really. (Offensive coordinator) Tony Sparano does that every now and then, kind of throws you in there,” Tebow said. “I don’t know if that’s the plan or if it’s just a feel thing, however it’s going. The last two plays he threw me in there and I tried to make the most of them.”

Tebow also said not to read into it, a notion that made the quarterback chuckle when asked. “I don’t think so. I don’t (read into it),” he said.

And neither did the spectators packed along the far sideline and end zone, who offered little outside the occasional muffled chant. Some wore Tebow’s No. 15 jerseys and others wore Sanchez’s No. 6. Some cheered for the incumbent and some preferred change under center.

But on a day where the Jets openly showcase this potential conflict for the first time â€" the embattled Sanchez alongside the celebrated Tebow in front of their divided fan base â€" the practice went off without the beginnings of a quarterback controversy.

“I think with us, we’re going to be ourselves and Tim is a very popular player, obviously, a popular person, and I think that’s a good thing,” Ryan said. “Everyone wants to focus on the negative. I look at it as he’s a good football player and a heck of a person. I don’t know where that’s a problem for any team, and especially for us. We like the fact that he’s on our team.”

Before practice, Ryan made it clear that Tebow’s presence with the starting offense would be limited to Wildcat formation plays, a wrinkle the team has seldom used since voluntary team activities began last month.

But he was also quick to defend the acquisition, invoking the loss of Wildcat quarterback and wide receiver Brad Smith while saying that the Jets “were the only people that never had a problem with it.”

He insisted Sanchez was included in that camp, a theory put to the test yesterday as a few hundred fans piled into the team’s Florham Park complex for their first look at Tebow in a Jets uniform competing alongside him.

“He’s got a great attitude, he’s always smiling, he’s always excited and he works out very hard. He’s just a great fit for the team,” Sanchez said of Tebow afterward. “But there’s other guys around the room and other coaches that you really want to look at, too.”

When given an opportunity, Tebow â€" who said he’ll try to play 10 pounds heavier than he was in Denver last year â€" deferred to Sanchez, saying he’s not worried about “being the man.”

On the field, Sanchez was sharp, completing 8-of-10 passes during 11-on-11 team drills, according to an unofficial count. During the same drills, Tebow was 3-of-5 with a sack. He threw an interception during 7-on-7 drills to D’Anton Lynn, son of running backs coach Anthony Lynn.

After practice, both quarterbacks held interview sessions.

Tebow was asked if he’d learned anything from being around Sanchez so far and began responding: “I’ve learned something new every day, whether it’s something new in fundamentals, something we’re learning as an offense ...”

Sanchez, walking around media members huddled near Tebow’s locker, yelled, “Good answer.”

Conor Orr: corr@starledger.com; twitter.com/ConorTOrr