To celebrate the 100th anniversary of its All-America honor for college football players, the Associated Press (AP) just released a list of All-Time All-America first-teamers. Headlining the collegiate gridiron greats are two outspoken Christians: Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Florida State cornerback Deion Sanders.
A dozen AP sportswriters chose the 25 honorees. To be eligible, the athletes had to have made the AP first-team All-America list at least once during college. Although many of the players went on to have stellar NFL careers, professional accomplishments weren’t included in the selection process.
The AP All-Time All-America roster represents the best of almost 2,000 college football players who have been named AP first-team All-Americans since 1925. Five honorees—including Tebow—won the Heisman Trophy, and 21 are already in the College Football Hall of Fame.
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Tim Tebow Named All-Time First-Team Quarterback
Tim Tebow, who turned 38 this week, made the AP All-America team in 2007, his sophomore season with the Florida Gators. His college accolades include the Heisman Trophy and two national championships. At Florida, Tebow threw for 88 touchdowns, ran for another 57 TDs, threw for almost 9,300 yards, and ran for almost 3,000.
In college, Tebow often wrote Bible verses in his eye black—a practice the NCAA banned in 2010. During three years in the NFL, Tebow took heat for kneeling in prayer before games and for praising Jesus in post-game interviews.
The outspoken Christian is the son of missionaries and was homeschooled. While pregnant with him, Tebow’s mother refused a doctor’s recommendation to have an abortion.
In addition to his work in sports broadcasting, Tebow fights to end child abuse and sex trafficking. He also is a disabilities advocate, hosting annual Night to Shine events for people with special needs.
Tebow and wife Demi-Leigh became new parents in July, welcoming daughter Daphne Reign. On her husband’s Aug. 14 birthday, Demi-Leigh posted that Tim is “the gentlest, kindest, most amazing dad.” In response, Tim wrote, “One of the greatest joys of my life, to love and serve my Queen and little Princess. Love doing this life with you.”
 just released a list of All-Time All-America first-teamers. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Florida State cornerback Deion Sanders, who are outspoken Christians, headline the collegiate gridiron.){kind=link}