Former Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer is now at Ohio State and while he declined to talk about incarcerated star Aaron Hernandez, he still had plenty of praise for his quarterback Tim Tebow, saying that he could play tight end if needed this season.
According to Pro Football Talk, Meyer spoke to local Ohio paper about his upcoming season and naturally both Tebow and Hernandez came up, with the coach declining to speak about the jailed tight end. Hernandez played for Meyer for three seasons in Florida and won the best tight end of the year award his junior season, but he also got into trouble, including his first season in Gainesville when he got into a bar fight. Tebow was there to try and intervene and no charges were filed.
Meyer already refused to talk about Hernandez since he was taken into custody for the murder of Odin Lloyd and his past as coach of the Gators has been scrutinized as well. A high number of players were arrested and dealt with character issues during Meyer's time with the team, including Hernandez, who also had issues with drugs and was suspended for one game while playing for the Gators.
Meyer said that he speaks with Tebow on the reg and that while he feels that he will play quarterback, that he doesn't doubt that he could play tight end if forced into action. Hernandez is now in jail and Rob Gronkowski is coming back from surgery, which is one reason why many have speculated that he could play some tight end.
Hernandez and Tebow were teammates in Florida and were teammates again for a short time with the Patriots before Hernandez was arrested. Tebow was signed a few weeks ago after the Jets released him, while Hernandez was drafted three years ago, but he was released after the arrest came down, despite the fact that the team will take a cap hit for it after giving Hernandez a $40 million extension.
"I don't doubt Tim can do anything," Meyer said, via Guy Cipriano of the News-Herald. "If you are asking me, that's all speculation. He's a good athlete, incredible competitor. To play NFL tight end now. . . . There's only a few of them that can do that."
