Back on TV covering college football, will Tebow continue his baseball odyssey?

College football fans tuning into “SEC Nation” on the SEC Network last Saturday might have been surprised to see a familiar face.

That’s because Tim Tebow was back on the pregame show’s panel, breaking down the day’s slate of SEC games while broadcasting on location from Dallas.

It would only be surprising because Tebow has spent the summer make headlines and highlights playing professional baseball. His first team, the Columbia Fireflies, didn’t wrap up their season until Monday. His most recent team, the Port St. Lucie Mets played a game on Saturday before wrapping up their 2017 campaign on Sunday.

Tebow actually returned for Sunday’s finale, going 0-for-3. But Tebow’s presence on SEC Network begs the question, will the Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback continue to pursue a career playing baseball next season?

Or will his 2017 baseball season get extended?

There have been rumors since he signed with the New York Mets organization that Tebow would be rushed through the minor leagues and be called up to the big league club – as a publicity stunt.

The Mets have been out of playoff contention for a long time, and there’s no doubt Tebow’s presence in the lineup would sell tickets in Queens, N.Y. It certainly did in Columbia and Port St. Lucie and everywhere else Tebow’s teams played this season.

No announcement or decision has been made as to whether the Mets will call him up to the major leagues with the roster expanded in September.

For his part, the 30-year-old Tebow has said that he plans to return to the Mets organization next season. Tebow finished his first baseball season hitting .226 with eight home runs and 52 RBIs in 126 minor league games.

He hit .220 with three home runs and 23 RBIs in 64 games for the Columbia Fireflies, of the South Atlantic League, before being promoted to the Florida State League in June. He hit five home runs and 29 RBIs for the St. Lucie Mets.

Tebow, who led Florida to a pair of college football titles and won the 2007 Heisman Trophy, told the New York Post his first professional baseball season was a good learning experience.

“In looking back, there’s a lot of ups and downs, a lot of learning moments,” he said to nypost.com. “Almost every day there’s something that I’ve never been through before that I’m learning.”

Some of the high moments included hitting .317 over his first 25 games for St. Lucie, including a 12-game hitting streak. The downs included batting .161 in August, when he went through a 3-for-44 slump.

He did say that everything he experienced, including hitting a home run in his first at-bat on Opening Day with the Fireflies, has him better prepared for the grind next season. Again, assuming Tebow sticks with his profefssional baseball career.

“I think it will be easier from that standpoint, mentally, knowing what to expect,” he said. “As far as baseball goes, I think it will be a huge year for me.”

This story was originally published September 4, 2017 at 10:04 PM with the headline "Back on TV covering college football, will Tebow continue his baseball odyssey?."