WILLIAMSBURG â€"â€"
New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow is no stranger to the spotlight, though serving as a guest instructor at William and Mary's Colonial All-Pro Camp Monday, Tebow was suddenly very nervous.Leading a passing drill at the camp, Tebow encountered Sepp Schirey, a 12-year-old from Hanover County, near Richmond, who was on forearm crutches because of Cerebral Palsy.
"At first, I didn't know what to do because he was running to go catch a pass, and I was so nervous," Tebow said. "I was just like, 'put it perfectly in his chest,' so the first one, we weren't able to complete it."
Sepp fell trying to catch Tebow's pass, and after Tebow ran to help him up, he was able to complete his next pass to Sepp. After all the kids in the group completed the drill, Tebow approached Sepp, pulling him into a hug.
Hunter Schirey, Sepp's dad and a volunteer coach at the camp, was watching off to the side. Four and a half years prior, it had been a tough decision for Schirey and his wife to let Sepp play tackle football, though now it's normal for him despite the Cerebral Palsy.
Watching Tebow interact with Sepp, Schirey thought the same thing that Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, a fellow instructor at the camp, had said hours earlier at the camp.
"If you're not a fan of Tim Tebow, something's wrong with you," Fitzgerald said. "He does things the right way. If you spend any time with the guy, he's a kid that parents would want their kid to be like. He's the kind of guy that you want your daughter to marry. We need more people like him, not just athletes."
Being the National Football League's "good guy" is a role that Tebow has sought after since he acquired the platform to impact others as a professional athlete. Reflecting on how kids chanted his name Monday, Tebow said it's a goal of his to be a role model that does things the right way, though he said he's far from perfect.
As Sepp began to run the relay drill, Tebow said he wanted to carry him, run the relay, then bring him back, but the coaches told him to just stand back and watch. As Sepp was running, Tebow encouraged him, yelling for him to "go, go, go," before Sepp fell 5 yards from the finish line.
"I was like, oh no," Tebow said. "At first, I thought he fell because I told him to 'go, go, go,' then I tried to help him up. He finished and he was just the sweetest kid. He looked at me, goes, 'thank you so much for helping me.' I'm like, are you kidding me? I didn't do anything."
After winning six of his first seven starts last season with the Denver Broncos, Tebow was traded to the Jets following Denver's signing of quarterback Peyton Manning. As a Jet, he's been practicing as the backup to quarterback Mark Sanchez and he's taken snaps as a blocker in the punt formation.
He said that going from being the Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion at Florida to now being a backup with the Jets was not a hard transition, as it's about the mentality of wanting Sanchez to get better, so the competition pushes Tebow to get better.
Speaking to the kids at the camp after the drills, Tebow told them to believe in themselves and to work hard for their dreams, even if others doubt. With the spotlight always on him, even as a backup quarterback, blocking out the attention is the new normal for Tebow.
"It's not always easy," Tebow said. "The easy part is not watching certain channels, certain TV shows, reading the internet, but the way it kind of gets you is it affects your family and friends. Then they'll want to talk about it and it's just like, guys, let's just go watch this movie or something. You just try to be normal."
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