Jacksonville, Fla., may be home in Tim Tebow’s world, but a couple of Broncos before him made a buzz there.
And while the talk is loud and long about Tebow’s return to his hometown Sunday in the Broncos’ regular-season opener, wide receiver Jabar Gaffney and safety Brian Dawkins also will make the pilgrimage home.
Gaffney, who played at Jacksonville several times when he was with the Texans, was in hot pursuit of Broncos staffer Clark Wray on Wednesday morning to get his ticket order in for the weekend.
“I’m not sure yet how many people are coming,” Gaffney said. “I know I better get my request in, though.”
Dawkins, in his 15th NFL season, will make just his third regular-season appearance in the Jaguars’ home stadium. The Eagles played there twice in his career (1997 and 2002), and Dawkins also started Super Bowl XXXIX for Philadelphia, a 24-21 loss to the Patriots in what then was called Alltel Stadium.
“I’ve had my time playing there and everything, going home to the family and stuff, so that part of it, the anxiousness, has passed,” Dawkins said. “If my family was there, I want to play a certain way. If they’re watching on TV, I’m still going to play that certain way. It doesn’t matter. I’m still going to play.”
But Dawkins did call playing in the Super Bowl in front of so many family and friends “real tough emotionally.”
Dawkins and Gaffney, who is in his ninth season, attended William H. Raines High School, which has a long history of NFL alumni.
Gaffney’s father, Derrick, also played there, as did his uncle, Don. Jabar Gaffney is a part of athletic history in the city as well, having caught the game-winning touchdown to give Raines a 1998 state championship.
The title-game victory marked the first time a public school from Duval County won a Florida football championship.
“That was one of those moments that will stick with me forever,” Gaffney said. “Catch a touchdown in a game like that, you’re never going to forget that. Looking back on everything in athletics for me, that is still definitely up there. To be the first public school to do that, it was a special, special moment, that was pretty big.”
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
Bit of history
Broncos safety Brian Dawkins and wide receiver Jabar Gaffney are two of many NFL players who attended William H. Raines High School in Jacksonville, Fla. Some others:
Ken Burroughs; Harold Carmichael; Derrick Gaffney; Rod Gardner; DeJuan Green
