MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Even before he had taken his first snap as the Florida Gators quarterback, Tim Tebow was The Chosen One. At least that was the title of a television documentary that aired on ESPN and chronicled his senior year in high school in 2005 as one of the nation's most touted college prospects.

For Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, there was no such hype. He arrived on OU's campus in Norman in 2006 as a nice recruit, but it wasn't clear he would someday be a star.

Now, they've both won Heisman trophies — Tebow last season, Bradford this season — and could soon be headed to the NFL if they decide to turn pro after Thursday's Bowl Championship Series title game (8 p.m. ET, Fox). And in the minds of some NFL draft analysts, it's Bradford —- with his poise and laser accuracy as a passer — who is the better pro prospect. Some of those analysts don't view Tebow, a bruising runner with unbridled passion, as a quarterback in the NFL.

The quarterbacks at center stage in Thursday night's title game have much in common — good grades, the adoration of their teammates — but they are sharply defined by their distinctions.

After playing in the rain for 3 1/2 hours against Florida State this season, Tebow's white jersey was muddy and tattered. His right shoulder was covered with garnet field paint. His hands, covered by all that red paint, looked like a heart surgeon's in the middle of a triple bypass.

"My mom thinks it looks terrible," Tebow says of the photos from that day. "I think it's kind of cool."

Bradford, by contrast, always seems to have a clean uniform. All that's mussed is usually his mop of hair.

On a key third down against Oklahoma State, Bradford sprinted toward the end zone. It didn't matter he had torn ligaments in his left hand earlier in the game. As he leaped to avoid a tackler, Bradford did a flip as he was hit and pinwheeled over two defenders, as if he were on a trampoline. His uniform barely crinkled, Bradford popped back to his feet and moved on to the next play, a touchdown plunge that made his circus act seem routine.

Later, Bradford said the flip wasn't even the best of his career. "Might come in a close second to one that I had in Little League," he said.

Those iconic moments on the same late November day added to the legacies of Tebow and Bradford, who already have established themselves among the greatest college quarterbacks of all time.

Will he make it in the NFL?

Tebow won a national championship as a freshman backup in 2006, became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and was a finalist this season as a junior. Bradford, a redshirt sophomore, won the Heisman Trophy this season and led the highest-scoring team in NCAA history.

Tebow essentially is Bronko Nagurski at quarterback, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden has said, referring to the Chicago Bears star from the 1930s.

Tebow's uniform from the FSU game, streaked with field paint, mud and all, hangs preserved in the locked office of Florida's equipment manager, Jason Baisden. Tebow doesn't know this yet, but Baisden plans to give him the jersey when the quarterback finishes his college career.

Baisden orders two white and two blue jerseys for every Florida player before the season. For Tebow, he orders five white, five blue, since bleach is no match for Tebow's laundry.

Tebow's rugged running style and his imperfect throwing motion in Florida's spread offense are why some draft experts have questioned his future as an NFL quarterback. ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. sees Tebow as an H-back, a hybrid tight end-fullback in the pros.

If Tebow skips his final year of college eligibility, Kiper projects him as a third-round pick.

"If you can be an outstanding H-back or maybe, at best, a backup quarterback in the NFL, you make the position move," Kiper says.

Others disagree, believing Tebow, 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, could be a first-round selection at quarterback. Gil Brandt, a former executive for the Dallas Cowboys and current NFL.com analyst, says, "He finds a way to win. A lot of teams will find a way to make him successful as a starting quarterback."

Tebow nearly signed with Alabama. If he had, he would have played in then-coach Mike Shula's pro-style offense and perhaps faced fewer questions about his NFL future. Shula, now the quarterbacks coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, says there is room for different types of quarterbacks in the NFL.

Tebow, of course, believes he can succeed as an NFL quarterback. At Florida, he has relished making a point when others have doubted his ability. When Bob Tebow hears draft analysts say his son won't be an NFL quarterback, he laughs long and loud.

"His whole life Timmy has always responded to a challenge," says the father, who runs a Christian ministry and an orphanage in the Philippines. "He feeds off others' negativity."

When Tebow, from Jacksonville, signed with the Gators, it wasn't clear whether he would be able to sustain his physical style against vaunted Southeastern Conference defenses.

In 2007, Tebow became the first major-college player to run for 20 touchdowns and throw 20 TD passes in the same season. He had an even better season in 2008, his coaches say, getting the ball to a talented cast of playmakers. Tebow threw for 2,515 yards and 28 touchdowns with two interceptions. He ran for 564 yards and 12 TDs.

This week, Tebow's ability as a quarterback was challenged again when Oklahoma cornerback Dominique Franks said Tebow probably would be only the "fourth-best quarterback" in the Big 12.

"That might have been a compliment," Tebow says. "We'll see."

His teammates were thrilled by Franks' comments. "You don't want to wake up the sleeping giant," receiver Percy Harvin says. Harvin's advice for Oklahoma now? "Good luck."

Tebow is resolute in his beliefs, religious or otherwise. His favorite song: Frank Sinatra's version of Send in the Clowns. Seriously? As in, Isn't it rich? Are we a pair? Me here at last on the ground and you in midair?

"It's different from most people, but I enjoy it," he says. "I don't know, it's just a cool song."

"He's one of a kind," Harvin says. "I don't think there will be another person that could be that much involved in things off the field, going to hospitals, talking to kids. He enjoys it. What you see in interviews, that's Tebow."

There is a fan frenzy surrounding Tebow unlike any other athlete in college sports, in part because of the ESPN documentary. Even when Tebow was the backup, autograph seekers frequently gathered outside his dorm room, prompting school officials to call campus security.

The adoration has intensified the last two years, given Tebow's success on the field and good deeds off it. This week in Clearwater, a couple named their newborn son Logan Tebow Bradley in honor of the quarterback, the Associated Press reported.

Tebow has made several visits to prisons to preach Christianity to inmates and does mission trips around the world with his family during his breaks from school. He wants to use what he calls the "platform" of football to help him launch a community organization and ministry.

Bradford's quiet life

Bradford has a much more typical college life. Around campus, he pulls his ball cap low, and he's barely noticed.

"He blends in like a regular guy," Oklahoma center Jon Cooper says. "He doesn't walk with his chest puffed out."

When Bradford and a few teammates loaded into a car for a news conference a few days ago, the Heisman winner let his teammates take the prime seats. He slipped into the hatchback and sat with the luggage.

Bradford's father, Kent, a former Oklahoma offensive lineman who is an insurance agent, says his son is "just your average Joe."

"Sam is always comfortable being Sam," Kent Bradford says.

For much of the last quarter-century, reigning Heisman winners have famously struggled in bowl games. But Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops doesn't believe Bradford will have a post-Heisman hangover.

"He's the big easy," Stoops says, "and will handle it like he handles everything else."

When Bradford returned to Norman after a few whirlwind days in New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation, "I just kind of got back to my normal life," he says.

On the field, Bradford has had an exceptional life, throwing for a nation's best 48 touchdowns this season. He threw for 4,464 yards with six interceptions.

Though Bradford, who is 6-4 and 218 pounds, has a strong arm, great accuracy and is calm under pressure running the Sooners' no-huddle offense, his intelligence is what makes him special, teammates and coaches say. In three years, he has gotten just one B as a finance major; all his other grades have been A's.

"He is extremely bright, a very detailed note-taker and has a way of processing things very quickly," Oklahoma quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel says.

As a kid, Bradford competed in just about every other sport, including hockey, basketball and golf. Coming out of high school in Oklahoma City, he wasn't the most heavily recruited prep football player.

"A three-star quarterback," Stoops says, a reference to recruiting analysts who rank top prospects with five stars. "So much for those guys giving out the stars."

Now, Bradford is projected to be a top-five pick in the NFL draft, maybe the No. 1 pick, if he forgoes his final two years of college eligibility and turns pro. "If he's a top-five guy, he ought to go," Stoops says. "If he isn't, he will be at least sometime in his career."

The one concern pro teams have, draft analysts say, is Bradford's clean pants. Oklahoma's standout offensive line has allowed only 11 sacks this season.

"He doesn't get touched," Kiper says. "If he played flag football, nobody would get the flag off of him. He's never pressured. You never see him have to deal with adversity in the pocket, which is key with any NFL quarterback."

Before Thursday night's game, Bradford will read the Bible as he always does, specifically the story about David vs. Goliath. Tebow also has his own pregame routine that includes prayer. When it's over, whenever they leave this grand stage for good, college football surely will miss them.

Isn't it rich? Aren't they a pair? Tebow on the ground and Bradford in midair.