Below Average Wonderlic Another Strike Against Tebow

The inevitable leak of the Wonderlic scores from the 2010 NFL Combine occurred on Wednesday. The Wonderlic Test, a twelve-minute, fifty-question test used to assess the aptitude of prospective NFL players for learning and problem solving, is one of the many tests that the players are put through while at the combine. Of course we all knew that Tim Tebow would light up the field at the Combine, as he proved that he was a freakishly athletic specimen physically. A 38.5 inch vertical leap and a 4.7 forty yard dash are extremely impressive numbers for a quarterback, or anyone with his size as a matter of fact. But those few questions still remain on everyones' mind. Can he be a quarterback in the NFL? Can he handle the pressure of an NFL playbook? Will he ever be able to change that "winding-up" throwing motion? I have seen video of Tebow's improvement at improving his throwing motion; however, if I were a general manager of a professional football team, I would certainly not be willing to risk my job, my reputation, and millions of dollars on a kid who is just learning the correct fundamentals of throwing a football. I don't care how many guys he ran over in college, how loud he can yell during a game to fire his teammates up, or how many times I hear that he's a "winner"; he's simply not a quarterback. This recent leak of his below average wonderlic score is only another strike against him and will inevitably lead to more questions. With a perfect score on the test being a 50, the average score for a quarterback in the NFL is a 24. Tebow had the lowest score of the four leaked test scores. These tests scores were of course of the top four highly touted Quarterback prospects (Sam Bradford - 36, Colt McCoy - 25, Jimmy Clausen - 23, Tim Tebow - 22). At a time when anything could be construed as a check against Tim Tebow, he didn't help himself with a detrimental score of 22. That score would tie Tim with Chad Henne at 25th place for starting quarterbacks in the NFL. I am not saying that the Wonderlic score is anyway an accurate measuring stick for NFL success, I am purely acknowledging the fact that his low score is another detriment to his draft stock. The NFL contains many mediocre quarterbacks who had high scores, and vice-versa. Ryan Fitzpatrick scored a 48 (nearly perfect), while Donovan McNabb scored a 14. Just like any other test at the NFL's scouting combine, success or failure in now way will guarantee how good the player is once the pads are on. Football is a game of will power combined with physical power; therefore, I believe Tim Tebow will be an excellent NFL football player for years to come. My advice to him would be to just stop trying to pretend to be a quarterback. He needs to look at himself in the mirror and realize that his strengths are power, strength, athleticism, and physical size. Do they sound like the qualities of an NFL quarterback? I don't think so. So what position does fill these characteristics? I see fullback, H-Back, or Tight End in Tim Tebow's future. Sure he won't have the same glory or success that he garner in college as a quarterback, but that doesn't mean that he can't use his other features to become a successful football player. Plenty of players, Antwaan Randle El, Hines Ward, Matt Jones, and Brad Smith just to name a few, have successfully made the jump from quarterback to another position - why can't Tim Tebow?