By Dave Curtis

updated 2:51 p.m. ET Oct. 8, 2008

You probably think you know all there is to know about Tim Tebow. Since his high-profile recruitment, there has been no shortage of ink spilled about his on-field accomplishments. In 2006, he was the change-of-pace quarterback on Florida's national championship team as a freshman. Last season, he became the first player in NCAA history to rush for 20 touchdowns and pass for 20 touchdowns and the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.

But Tebow's off-the-field persona is almost as well-known. There are his religious beliefs -- he was born in the Phillipines to missionary parents and does mission work himself in the summer. And then there are the websites devoted to his superhero status -- "When the Boogeyman goes to sleep at night, he checks his closet for Tim Tebow."

Tebow sat down with Sporting News to talk about the stuff you can't find on Google -- and some of the stuff you can. The full conversation can be found in the magazine that hits newsstands this week. Here are some excerpts:

SN: Can you say for sure you'll be back here next year?
TEBOW: I can't say for sure, no.

SN: Is there a lean one way or the other?
TEBOW: Obviously, my lean would be coming back. But if the season ends up going good and I'm blessed to have an opportunity to go play in the NFL pretty early, I think that's something, just trying to be prudent and wise about it, it's something you have to look at. (Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks) Coach (Dan) Mullen and Coach (Urban) Meyer would tell me the exact same thing. You need to be wise and look at it ... because that's the opportunity of a lifetime. It's not only a blessing financially, but it would be a blessing for so many other people because with the money you can make in something like that, you can do so many great things for your communities, for helping people, for my family, for everything. So I think that would be maybe even selfish to say I wouldn't look at it because of all the things that money could do.

SN: How much do you care about this presidential election?
TEBOW: I do, but I really haven't tried to take a stance publicly about anything. Right now, in my life and what I'm doing, I don't need the attention of saying, "I'm going to go after this guy. This is who you need to vote for." I'm just trying to share my faith and share how much I love the Gators and not so much politics. ...

I've thought about it and tried to pray about it and figure out what's the best thing. Especially when talking to candidates and everything, I just don't feel it's the right time. And talking to people who are wiser, they just said you really don't need to get into that right now. People will be like, "I'm a Democrat, you're a Republican." Or, "I'm a Republican, and I'm a Democrat." And, "You're going to vote for this person, so I'm not going to be a Gator fan anymore." Or, "I'm not a Tim Tebow fan anymore." I just don't need to get into that and try to make Gator fans angry.

SN: Your recruiting was maybe as publicized as anybody's, ever. Would you change anything about how all that went down?
TEBOW: Not the way everything turned out. Along the way, there were times when I didn't know. Maybe I should have taken one more trip to Alabama and be around the coaches just to get a better feel for it. When I made that decision, it was such a hard decision, determining whether I was going to go to Florida or Alabama. I thought after I made it, I'm going to be at peace. I'm going to feel great about it. Well, I didn't. I was still agonizing. I knew how great of a coach Coach (Mike) Shula was and what kind of person he was, and so I felt bad. ...
But looking back now, I think we really did it the right way. I've got to give credit for my dad. He was very inspirational and gave me a lot of wise counsel for how to handle things, taking looks at different places. And him just giving me the support of taking me to all the schools and visiting all over the country. That's really what gave me a lot of peace afterwards was that we looked at so many places. We looked at Ohio State and Michigan and USC. So I knew what those places were like, and I could honestly say those places weren't right for me.

Special feature Heisman Hopefuls Who will win prize this season? NBCSports.com

SN: How hard was it to see Shula get fired?
TEBOW: I was very upset. I felt like, maybe, it was a little bit my fault, too. But I think he's really enjoying Jacksonville and his opportunity there (as the Jaguars' quarterbacks coach). And maybe it was a good thing for him, to get a change of scenery and a fresh start and everything.

SN: What's the Georgia game going to be like on November 1?
TEBOW: It's going to be huge. Possibly, it could be one of the biggest games of the year and one of the biggest of the last five to 10 years. ... It means a lot to a lot of people, maybe more so than in the past few years.

Special feature Bowl Projections How all 34 postseason games should shape up NBCSports.com

SN: Because of last year and their celebration on the field?
TEBOW: Because of last year, because of losing. Them winning now, one time -- that makes a difference. But also the way it happened. For Gator fans, it's a big deal. For me, it's kind of a big deal. ... I think the stuff last year has made the rivalry so much better. It's made it so much more hostile between the fans. It's going to be a crazy game.

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SN: What made you so quick to defend Meyer after the way the Miami game ended? (After Florida kicked a fourth quarter field goal to pad its 20-point lead, Miami coach Randy Shannon, without mentioning Meyer's name, said, "Sometimes when you do things, and people see what type of person you really are, you turn a lot of people off. Now, whatever you want to get out of that, I won't say it again. But it helped us. It helped us more than you'll ever know.")
TEBOW: Just because I wanted everyone to know what kind of person he really is. He's not just a guy who works really hard and his team wins lots of games. He's more than that. That's why I came to his defense. He's as intense as can be, but there's another side. He really cares about his players. I think recruits will like that a lot more, that the players love their coach, than kicking a field goal.

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