Nothing wrong with 33-year-old Tim Tebow having a perfect practice

At the age of 33, the 2007 Heisman Award winner while quarterbacking University of Florida to the national football championship. He then played a few years in the NFL with first the Denver Broncos and then the New Jets.

His next stop was seven years with the New York Mets, playing most of the time in the franchise’s minor league system. He attracted crowds, and when he was called up to the parent club usually in September, the Tebow fans were there, too.

He has gotten by through the years as a clean-cut nice guy, a person with Christian religion beliefs, and has no problem with interviews or mingling with fans. He did come up with injuries in the minors, but when he did play, he hit quite a few shots over the fences.

Now it’s something new again after he recently signed a one-year deal with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars to play tight end, a position he never played before. He was always a quarterback.

So while much talk and questions are thrown around, there he is in Jacksonville nearby to his current residence, and getting in the news again.

In a recent practice, he caught touchdown passes from rookie Trevor Lawrence, the former Clemson All-America selected No. 1 in the college draft, and also from Gardner Minshaw, and showing signs that reviving his NFL career as a tight end is a far from a publicity stunt or personal favor.

The new head coach for the Jags, Urban Myers, is his former head coach with the Gators, and some of the ideas he shared with Tebow and Jacksonville owner Shad Khan, appear to be paying off.

He didn’t drop a pass and even made a couple of plays that surely got more attention then they deserved. He is hardly a polished route-runner and doesn’t appear to be a down-the-field threat, but anyone who thought he would embarrass himself by changing positions nine years after last playing a meaningful snap in the league probably would have been surprised to see him hold his own in a number 85 jersey.

“I was impressed,” Lawrence said. “I was impressed and happy to meet him, and then I thought he did very well on the field. He’s serous, loves to play, and I think it’s great to have someone like him around.”

Meyer also had something to say.

“It’s 1 in 90 trying to make the team,” said the successful former college coach, “but he has improved. It’s all new to him … that position is trending upward, and they are doing a nice job.

Meyer declined to provide much more insight into how he plans to potentially use Tebow. There has been speculation that he could be a goal-line and short-yardage quarterback or even line up in the backfield alongside Lawrence.

But he’s giving it a try. He’s always been a skilled athlete, a gamer, making All-State in high school in football, baseball and basketball. And now he’s having fun tackling something new.