Former Nease (Fla.) quarterback great leaves Bahamas to visit former teammate who was shot in Orlando nightclub tragedy.
Video: Tim Tebow high school highlights
Heisman Trophy winner visited high school teammate shot in Orlando nightclub tragedy in hospital. The bonds between high school classmates can be tight. Between athletic teammates, even more so.
There's something about going through the rigors of what athletics require — conditioning, game preparation, strategy and competition itself — and experiencing it during the emotional state of adolescence.
Rodney Sumter has been reminded of that during his hospital stay in Orlando (Fla.) following the deadly shooting at the Pulse nightclub in the early morning of June 12.
Sumter, a bartender at the club, was shot three times and suffered two broken arms in the attack,
according to the Orlando Sentinel.
This week he was visited by a high school teammate from
Nease (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) — the team's star quarterback,
Tim Tebow.
The two played on the 2005 Nease team that went 13-2 and won a state title game over Armwood 44-37. Tebow threw for 237 yards and four touchdowns in the game and added 27 carries for 153 yards and two more scores.
Sumter wasn't mentioned in any of the game stories we found, but the then-6-0, 165-pound senior wide receiver was good enough to play after high school at Jacksonville University.
