GAINESVILLE — Trey Burton is not accusing former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow of stealing his idea, but Burton believes he was wearing Bible verses on his eye black first.
Burton was an emerging star as a freshman safety at Venice High School when he started scrawling "Phil. 4:13" on his eye black before games. He kept doing it after he moved to quarterback his final three seasons, mixing in other verses depending on what passages he read that week .
"My favorite one - actually before Tebow made it famous - was Philippians 4:13," Burton said, referencing the verse that says Christ empowers believers to accomplish all things. "There's a whole bunch, but that was my favorite one. "
The eye-black evangelism is one of many similarities between Burton, a freshman, and Tebow, the departed superstar: outspoken about faith, bulldozer ball-carriers and men who make Gators coach Urban Meyer's voice gush with adoration when he talks about them.
Burton and Tebow even arrived at roughly the same size. Burton showed up in January at 6-foot-2, 212 pounds - an inch shorter and 7 pounds lighter than Tebow was in 2006.
But Burton is not the next Tebow. He is not the next anybody. Listed as quarterback John Brantley's backup, he has also lined up at fullback, tight end, receiver and on kickoff coverage. As Florida's wildcat quarterback, Burton has four carries for 11 yards and a touchdown.
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