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Tebow time Take a look at Florida's star quarterback on and off the field. NBCSports.com

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It got more nerve-racking for Meyer, too. Although he had a Plan B in place — he had chartered a flight to offer a scholarship to another quarterback — former assistant coach Greg Mattison delivered a gut-wrenching prediction of what would happen if Tebow picked Alabama.

“I had convinced myself that if we lose him, we’d still be OK,” Meyer said. “I’ll never forget this. It was about 5 degrees. We were freezing because you can’t turn the heat on in a plane until it gets rolling. I look over at Greg and he says, ’Do you realize that if we don’t get Tim, that’ll set the program back 10 years.’ I go, ’Shut up. We’ll be all right.’ And he goes, ’10 years.’

“I got so upset with him that I grabbed a blanket and didn’t even talk to him the rest of the trip. But he’s right. That’s how important Tim was.”

Tebow was still undecided when he woke up the next morning and wasn’t even sure until minutes before his announcement. The deciding factor was that he wanted to stay closer to home. He had planned to call Meyer just before his TV appearance, but his cell phone died before he could deliver the news.

Meyer took it as a sign he had lost Tebow to Shula and Alabama. He trudged outside and started playing catch with his son, but the rest of the family watched as Tebow pledged to play for Florida a few minutes later. Meyer’s wife ran out of the house with the news — and the Gators haven’t been the same since.

Shula and the Alabama faithful were crushed.

“He chose what’s best for him,” Tide left tackle Andre Smith said. “I don’t blame him. He’s down the road from Florida. Coach Meyer’s a great guy, his staff is great, the program is great.”

Shula lasted one more season in Tuscaloosa, getting fired after finishing 6-6 in 2006. The Gators, meanwhile, won a national championship in Tebow’s first season.

“I think if I did (go to Alabama), I would have tried to help in recruiting that year with other guys,” said Tebow, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner. “(Shula) might have had a chance to be there a little longer. Maybe.”

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