HOOVER, Ala. — Any other player and this week’s biggest storylines wouldn’t have the slightest national attraction.

Tim Tebow is a virgin, as revealed in an interview with AOL Fanhouse. And at least one Southeastern Conference coach did not vote for the Florida quarterback for the All-SEC first team.
Both have been hotly debated at SEC Media Days, where Tebow is the only man capable of upstaging Nick Saban in Alabama.
Tebow’s hype machine keeps pumping for the third straight summer as fans anticipate what could be an historic college football season. The 21-year-old senior almost wasn’t a part of this charade, the 20-plus cameramen chasing him through the Wynfrey Hotel lobby.
The NFL draft was attractive. But in some ways, Tebow is still around college football to glean this very attention. Not to gloat, but to reveal even more of his message.
When asked about sticking around for a senior season, Tebow quickly segues into the 94 million Google hits for the Bible verse John 3:16 he wore under his eyes in last year’s national title game.
He thinks about encouraging mothers not to have an abortion. His mother, Pam, refused to abort Tebow despite potential health repercussions.
His plan is in the works this week.
“If there’s been a backlash (from the constant attention), oh well,” Tebow said. “It’s not a big deal to me because of the people who’ve been encouraged by the stories we’ve had to tell.”
Whether it’s discussing the spread offense or his virginity, Tebow handles each question with the poise of a fourth-down conversion.
When asked by AOL Fanhouse’ Clay Travis about saving himself for marriage, Tebow laughed before saying “Yes, I am.”
Then he wondered to reporters why everybody else was fumbling through their words.
A mini-controversy still surrounds the all-SEC vote. Nine of the 12 coaches have publicly admitted they voted for Tebow, including Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin, who appears Friday at Media Days.
Three potential culprits and speakers today are LSU’s Les Miles, Auburn’s Gene Chizik and South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier.
Tebow had two admissions of his own: He doesn’t know who the coach is, and he doesn’t care much.
“I’m a pretty self-motivated person,” Tebow said.
“I’m not going to run sprints thinking about a coach that didn’t vote for me.”
One coach’s vote hasn’t stopped SEC peers from admiring his on-field presence.
Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain has a fond memory of Tebow from the SEC title game that has helped his own leadership.
“I see them call a timeout, and Tebow runs out there in the middle of the defensive huddle and said something,” McClain said. “I don’t know what he said, but it had to be something good. After that they got two or three sacks and got a three-and-out. Man, what did that guy say?”
Tebow and McClain could meet again in the 2009 title game in Atlanta, something that would satisfy Tebow — undefeated season or not.
The Gators have never finished undefeated, and only four SEC teams in the last 30 years have capped an undefeated season with a national title.
“Our goal is to win the SEC championship,” Tebow said.
“If we’re the champions of the best conference in football, we should have the opportunity to play for it all . . . Do we want to be undefeated? Absolutely. But our mind-set is not to go undefeated.
“Every time we go on the field we want to win a game very badly.”
An undefeated season would complete Tebow’s resume, a decorative piece alongside a Heisman Trophy and two national titles.
As the Gators eye a dynasty for the next five months, Tebow’s messages to his team will most likely transcend football terminology.
It will be part of his plan.
“So many times in every aspect of life people worry about getting by,” Tebow said. “How can we be the best team, best player? Not how can we get by.”