Tim Tebow's ability to "grind" through games as the leader of the Florida Gators is what Urban Meyer would like the former Heisman Trophy winner to impart to OSU QB Braxton Miller. "Tim is the ultimate competitor, the ultimate grinder," says Meyer. "There is no harder-working guy. He's just non-stop."

(Photo by AP file)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Urban Meyer has just the guy to help take Braxton Miller to the next level as a quarterback.

Tim Tebow, Meyer's former quarterback at Florida, already has talked with Miller, Meyer's current quarterback at Ohio State, on the phone a bit and exchanged some texts. Tebow has enough interest in the Buckeyes that he was tracking Ohio State's game against Purdue two weeks ago as his New York Jets team headed to the airport and then boarded their flight to New England.

"I was pretty nervous," Tebow told The Plain Dealer in an exclusive phone interview Friday. "We were literally taking off as they were about to score and then go for the two-point conversion, so I didn't know until we landed that they won. So it was pretty cool. And I guess as hard as it is for me to say, I am a pretty big fan now of The Ohio State University."

"I think I got him a shirt," Meyer said with a smile.

So Tebow remains tight with his old coach.

"I talk to him at least once a week," Meyer told The Plain Dealer. "We plan on getting together in the off-season. It's family. There can't be a better relationship."

Meyer plans to use it. His old quarterback and new quarterback know each other a bit, but ...

"In the off-season, I want it more," Meyer said. "It's so hard when they're busy during the season. And Braxton is still figuring out how things work. But I would love for those guys to get face-to-face, even train a little bit together, work out together. Tim is so busy, but I'm going to push for that to happen real hard."

Tebow, the 25th pick of the 2010 NFL draft, admitted a Columbus trip could be in his off-season itinerary. Asked Wednesday, Miller said he'd be up for it.

"Sure, he's one of his guys," Miller said, believing Tebow could tutor him on "leadership skills, competitiveness, things like that."

And it's not hard to see why Meyer thinks it's so important.

"Tim's greatest strength is something Braxton needs to work on," Meyer said. "Tim is the ultimate competitor, the ultimate grinder. There is no harder-working guy. He's just non-stop. His whole life was nothing but be in the office, study football, go out and practice. And that's it. And Braxton is getting better. But to be a Heisman-type player, to be a first-round draft pick, especially at that position, the amount of time you need to commit to your trade is off the charts."

At some point, Meyer and Miller may get to the point where Meyer and Tebow are now.

"It was pretty special," Meyer said. "I don't know if I've ever spent that much time -- that was at least eight, nine hours a day, and I've never had that. But I've had great relationships, and Braxton and I are starting one. We're still in the early phases of it."

Tebow spoke with The Plain Dealer about Meyer, Miller and what it's like now watching the Buckeyes:

Q: What's your relationship like with Coach Meyer now?

A: My relationship is great with Coach Meyer, we're still really close. We talked two nights ago and we talk before most of his games. I always try to watch and make sure that they're doing good.

And I guess as hard as it is for me to say, I am a pretty big fan now of The Ohio State University. And not just Coach, but Coach Mick [strength coach Mickey Marotti] and [receivers coach] Zach Smith and guys I talk to like Braxton, I've talked to him a few times, I've been encouraging him and talking to him and getting to know him a little bit. So yeah, I definitely have been watching and keeping up and I have a great relationship with him.

Q: Was it a little weird for you in the beginning to see Coach Meyer coaching a team other than the Gators, or did you get used to it pretty quickly?

A: Not really. I was pretty used to it. Him being out of coaching for a year, I know it was nice for him and his family, but at the same time I knew he was itching to get back into it. And Ohio State is a great job and Coach Meyer is going to do such great things there at Ohio State, and he already is. They're having a great season and he still doesn't even have all his players there. Not to say the ones they have aren't great players, but he's going to continue to get players that fit his system, and it's going to be really exciting to see what he does.

Q: You said you knew that he was itching to get back into coaching. Does he seem happy to you now, and what do you think of him with this fit at Ohio State?

A: It's a great fit. He loves it there at Ohio State. I think he's happy. I talk to [Meyer's son] Nate, I talk to [daughter] Gigi, I talk to [daughter] Nicki, I talk to Miss Shelley [Meyer's wife], I talk to all of the family members on all their different cell phones. So I hear from all of them just as much as him, and they're all happy and doing great. And they love his attitude and his approach, and he's still being a dad, and he's not letting work overwhelm him. He's just loving his job, and he's working hard at his job and being great at it, but he's still going home and hanging with Nate and being a dad, and keeping that balance, which is hard to do sometimes. And I think that's the great thing that he's doing right now.

Q: You said you've talked with Braxton on the phone. What kind of advice have you given him or would you give him in being a quarterback being developed by Urban Meyer?

A: I think he obviously has the incredible tools. I think it's just constantly being a student of the game and pushing yourself mentally and continuing to push the envelope with what Coach Meyer always calls competitive excellence. And that starts with how you prepare your offense in the meeting room, how you study, how you learn film, how you prepare yourself. Because Coach Meyer is going to have great game plans, he's going to put you in situations for you to play to your strengths. And Coach Mick is going to get you physically prepared to play and take hits and be resilient, all those things.

So I think his biggest challenge is No. 1, leadership. I think No. 2, poise, because he's going to be in a lot of big games. And they're going to keep winning, and that means the games are just going to get even bigger. And so in big situations, he's got to either have ice water in his veins, just have a calm presence about him, or sometimes it's going to take that fiery presence. And I think you have to learn your teammates and learn your team and know when to be what player.

Those are the two biggest things, and the other thing to continue to work on is just being a student of the game. Because this offense is new to him and the stress that it puts on defenses is new to him, so it's learning the nuances about, 'How is this play going to work against this defense?' A lot of people think you just run this play-action or this read-zone or this triple-option or this play, but you can get so many different looks and you can put so many different stresses on a defense that you really have to be prepared to handle every different look.

Q: What is your impression of Braxton, both in the conversations you've had with him and just watching on TV or watching highlights? What do you think of him as a quarterback and as a kid?

A: Well, I think he's a great kid. Just from my little time of talking and texting with him I feel like he's a great kid. I feel like he loves playing the game of football, and I feel like he's a competitor. Everything Coach has told me has been great about him as well.

I would just encourage him to not get complacent and not take things for granted, because in several of these wins, if something happens differently, they might lose one of them. So it's not taking that for granted. It's every week constantly grinding. And I feel like one of the weeks that I was a little bit complacent in college was the Old Miss game (in 2008) and we lost and that was something I feel like he can control and can consistently get better. And yeah, I think a lot of the timing in the passing game and the rhythm and stuff like that, just continue to work on, but he's got great skill and great talent and as long as he just keeps pushing it and working hard and not being complacent and listening to Coach, I think he'll be just fine.

Q: Coach Meyer has said that Braxton Miller is the most dynamic athlete that he's ever coached. Are you offended by that?

A: The most dynamic? I would say the most dynamic player, and I think Braxton Miller is incredibly dynamic, but I would say the most dynamic player he's ever coached would be Percy Harvin. I mean, Braxton is crazy fast and has a lot of running ability, but I'd have to give the edge to my man Percy. There's not a one-on-one defender that can cover him, so I'd have to give it to Percy.

Q: As the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, you have a Heisman vote. Is Braxton in your mix at all at this point?

A: No question. No question he's in the mix. I don't know where he is in that mix, but he's in that mix, because of what he's meant to the team. I think he's just got to continue to do a great job. I'm not sure how it'll play with the probation that they're on, if that'll play a part into the voters' minds, but I hope not. I hope they can just look at what he did this season.

Q: I think there are still some fans, maybe not that many, but some Florida fans who are still a little upset about Meyer leaving or how he left or the fact that he's somewhere else now. Obviously Florida is having a great year, so what would you say to fans who are excited about their team but aren't sure about how they should think of Meyer these days?

A: I think they should be proud of Coach Meyer and be thankful for what he did there at Florida. He was there at the right time, and he had to move on and do what was best for him physically, for his family and for his health. And if they're fans of his, and they care more about him than they did just about the games, then I think they can understand that.

And Coach Meyer gave his heart and soul to Florida and he paid for it a little bit. But I think we have to look at it from a bigger picture than just football. And I think a lot of people can do that. And I know Florida will always have a special place in Coach Meyer's heart, he'll always love it. We talked about it two nights ago, about how proud we are of how everyone is doing there, and their season, so he still roots for the Gators and he'll always be a Gator.

But it was the right time for him to move on, take a year off and decide he wants to get back into coaching. And I think Ohio State was the right fit for him, and I think it was the right fit for his family as well.

Q: What are your expectations then for what Meyer's career will be like at Ohio State and what kind of success he'll have here?

A: Oh man. I don't want to say too many great things and put pressure on him that Ohio State fans will look at and cling to. But I think they'll do great. And I think they'll be playing a lot of big games and have chances to win a lot of big games and hopefully play for some championships.

I really believe that. I feel like they're in the right conference for it, the way Coach Meyer coaches, their style of play, and how it compares to everyone in that conference. I feel like Coach Meyer will create a little bit of an advantage with that offense.

I feel like he's going to get great players. I think he's going to be able to steal a lot of players from SEC schools. I know in Ohio, you've got big-time recruits there. So he's going to get a lot of big-time recruits. And I think you'll only see that team get better every year.

And I think the misconception about Coach Meyer's team is that oh, you're a fun-and-gun, you're an option team, you run around people, it's just speed. No, we were a team that, yes we had speed and we had a lot of guys that ran 4.3s, but more than anything we were a team that, when we needed to, we were going to pound it. And I think that's what he's going to be able to provide, is a team there at Ohio State that can be physical and go downhill and also have the threat of running around you. And when you have that, you can be very tough to defend.