HOOVER, Ala. -- Steve Spurrier confirmed it himself Friday morning when he appeared at the SEC media days: He was the one who snubbed Florida's Tim Tebow in the coaches' voting on the preseason All-SEC team.
But it was because of an oversight, the South Carolina coach said, addressing the matter right off the bat in the news conference.
Spurrier explained that his director of football operations had filled out the ballot and brought it in to him. Spurrier said he glanced at it, signed off on it, and then realized his mistake much later.
The ballot submitted to the SEC from South Carolina had Mississippi's Jevan Snead as the first-team quarterback, and not Tebow.
"I take full responsibility," he said, emphasizing that he believed Tebow to be one of the best quarterbacks in Florida history. "I'm embarrassed about it, I feel badly about it ... I apologize to Tim Tebow."
SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom confirmed to ESPN.com that Spurrier called within the past 24 hours and asked that his ballot be changed to include Tebow as the first-team quarterback. Spurrier told Bloom that his initial ballot, with Snead as the first-team quarterback, was a mistake.
Each of the other coaches in the SEC has said on the record or confirmed through a spokesperson that he voted for Tebow. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players, meaning a unanimous vote constituted 11 of the 12 votes.
The only unanimous selections on the coaches' preseason team were Tennessee safety Eric Berry, LSU offensive tackle Ciron Black and Alabama receiver Julio Jones.
Spurrier has talked at length about what a great player Tebow is and how he's willed the Gators to victory time and time again.
Chris Low covers the SEC for ESPN.com.