Urban Meyer’s most prominent former player has spoken out about the controversy surrounding the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tim Tebow, who won a pair of national titles and a Heisman Trophy under Meyer at the University of Florida, appeared on ESPN’s First Take on Friday to look back on the interactions he’s had with Meyer and his family in the last week.
In the aftermath of videos popping up on the internet of Meyer in Columbus, Ohio dancing and getting close with a woman who is not his wife just days after the Jaguars lost to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football to fall to 0-4 on the year, Tebow expressed that he believes this is a “disappointing, frustrating, and honestly heartbreaking situation.”
After explaining that his heart went out to Meyer’s family, with whom he is close, Tebow revealed he spoke to Meyer about what happened.
“It’s a very difficult week, and my advice to him was to apologize, to admit it, to learn from it, and to never, never repeat it,” Tebow said. “Coach shared with me that it was one of the hardest times of his life.”
Tebow went on to say that Meyer is “hurting,” and that there are players in the Jaguars’ locker room whose trust and respect Meyer will need to get back, which Tebow believes he wants to do.
“Coach isn’t taking it lightly, and he knows what a big deal this is, how disappointing it is to so many people, and I believe he wants to make amends, which is very hard and takes a while,” Tebow said.
The former Heisman Trophy winner made it a point to say that he does not condone what Meyer did, but that he loves his former college coach and his family, and that he wants to give him an opportunity to make those amends, saying that he wants to give Meyer a chance “to change, to grow, and to be able to earn back that trust and that respect.”
Now an ESPN analyst, Tebow appears on First Take every Friday during the college football season. Earlier this year, Meyer signed Tebow to a contract during training camp and gave him the opportunity to make the Jaguars’ roster as a tight end. Tebow, who had previously never played tight end before, was cut during the preseason.
