Tim Tebow at the Night to Shine event in February 2018. (Photo Courtesy: Tim Tebow Foundation/Facebook)
Tonight, over 500 churches 16 countries, with 175,000 volunteers will join Tim Tebow in the 5th annual “Night to Shine” prom event to give people with special needs a chance to be celebrated and loved.
“There’s red carpet, karaoke, paparazzi and the best part is every single one of them is crowned king or queen. Over 100,000 kings and queens,” Tebow told Jimmy Fallon Thursday Night.
The idea began with holding the event at one church. Then, the former Florida Gators quarterback and his team at the Tim Tebow Foundation decided to significantly expand the operation and its first “Night to Shine,” five years ago, had over 40 churches involved. Then the next year the event began to really take off.
“We serve a really big God,” Tebow said in a promotional video for the event. “And He started to open up doors and the next year we had 201 churches and we continue to grow and grow and this year, over 500 churches from 16 countries, 175,000 volunteers are rallying together to celebrate over 90,000 kings and queens of the prom.”
“It’s my favorite night of the year and we get to change so many lives,” Tebow said in a video promoting the event. “Honestly, it’s not just the night of their life where they get to dance, and they get to have fun. They get to ride in limos, they get to walk down red carpets.”
Tim Tebow at the Night to Shine event with a beautiful young lady in February 2017. (Photo Courtesy: Tim Tebow Foundation)
Each “Night to Shine” provides an unbelievably special evening, welcoming honored guests with the royal treatment: tuxedos and shoe shining stations for the kings, and gorgeous dresses and hair and makeup stations for the queens, along with corsages and boutonnieres. Each guest arrives to a cheering crowd and paparazzi as they walk down the red carpet. Once inside, they enjoy a night of dancing, karaoke and gifts to remember the night.
To open up the event to even more people, the Tim Tebow Foundation features a livestream. You can learn more by going to TimTebowFoundation.org.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE, FEATURING ROBERT MATHIS
Robert Mathis spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts (2003-16) and is the franchise’s all-time leader in sacks (123). He was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2021, and won Super Bowl XLI with the team in 2006-07. He retired as the NFL’s career record holder in forced fumbles (52).
Matt Forte welcomes Robert Mathis to the Sports Spectrum Podcast to talk about his journey of faith in Christ, the worst year of his life in 2014, the power of prayer, his favorite quarterback to sack, and the Colts’ culture.
Robert Mathis, who spent all of his 14 seasons with the @Colts and was part of the Super Bowl XLI winning squad, is now a Semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025. #PFHOF25pic.twitter.com/CErpQyajCL
Ohio State safety Caleb Downs makes a catch during the school's Pro Day in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Ohio State safety Caleb Downs has spent the past two seasons building one of the most decorated résumés in college football. Now, he’s on the verge of hearing his name called early in the NFL Draft — potentially within the first five picks.
He was named the winner of the 2025 Jim Thorpe Award — given annually to the nation’s top defensive back — and a finalist for both the Bronko Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik Awards, each honoring the nation’s best defensive player. Downs was also a two-time consensus first-team All-American and a key member of the Buckeyes’ 2024-25 national championship team and Big Ten runner-up squad in 2025-26. Furthermore, he was given the Big Ten’s Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year honor and, for the second straight season, the Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year award.
His impact extended beyond the field as well, earning the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which recognizes performance, leadership, character and community involvement, and he was nominated as Ohio State’s candidate for the 2025-26 Jackie Robinson Community & Impact Award.
“I have spent 11 years coaching in the NFL and Caleb Downs is the best football player — pro or college — that I have ever coached,” Ohio State co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Tim Walton said. “He is first-class and exceptional in all areas he touches.”
That combination of production, football IQ and consistency has made Downs one of the most highly regarded prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft. Multiple outlets project him as a top-10 pick, with ESPN and The Athletic placing him as high as No. 5 overall to the New York Giants.
“Downs would be the first safety taken in the top five since Eric Berry went to the Chiefs in 2010, and he’d be worth it,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. wrote.
But Downs is more than just a football player. And he’s not shy in talking about what’s most important to him.
“There’s two things that are more important than me, more important than me playing football,” Downs told “The Walk” podcast in August as to why he wears No. 2. “My faith in Jesus Christ and my family. So those two things is what I wear on my chest every game and those are the two most important things in my life.”
His faith has been central not only to his personal life, but also to his platform at Ohio State. In 2024, several football players helped lead a worship gathering on campus that featured worship music, player testimonies and baptisms. When the event returned in 2025 — drawing an estimated 2,000 attendees, nearly double the previous year — Downs was among the players who spoke to the crowd.
“No play we make on the field — no touchdown, no interception — can compare to the Kingdom of God,” Downs said.
Speaking afterward, he emphasized where he believes true credit belongs.
“God is good,” Downs told local television station ABC 6. “I mean, I can’t take credit for it. None of my teammates can take credit for it. At the end of the day, His glory is above anything that we can do, but we know Jesus is real and we know that if you believe in Him, you will be saved.”
That message has also shaped how Downs talks about faith publicly. On “The Walk” podcast, he talked about the hesitation many feel about coming to Christ.
“Some people say, ‘I’m not ready to be baptized. I’m not ready to come to Jesus,'” he said. “But the realization is that Jesus is for the people that are sick. Jesus is for the people that aren’t perfect. You’re never going to be perfect enough to come to Jesus. That’s the point.”
He continued later: “Whenever you surrender to Him, that’s when everything will be washed away and you will be made renewed in Him. The faster that you can come to Him and run to Him and totally surrender your heart and your mind to Him, that’s the better off you’re going to be.
“There’s no amount of good behavior that you can do that will allow you to feel like you’re righteous enough to come to Him, because you never will be. It’s just a realization that He is what makes you righteous. He’s what makes you perfect.”
Downs, after just three collegiate seasons, officially declared for the NFL Draft on Jan. 7 and made sure to point his gratitude to God with a post on Instagram.
“Everything I’ve been able to achieve starts with my faith,” he wrote. “I’m grateful to God for the direction, strength, and purpose He’s given me. And I will continue to glorify, honor, and praise Him throughout this journey.”
The NFL Draft goes from April 23-25 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Georgia Tech pitcher Tate McKee, May 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Tate McKee has become a key piece of one of the best teams in college baseball this season, the ace of a staff with sights set on its first national championship.
The Georgia Tech right-hander is 6-0 with a 3.50 ERA through nine starts, leading the team with 43.2 innings pitched and 45 strikeouts. He’s made 25 consecutive series-opening starts, and the Yellow Jackets are 21-4 (.840) in those games. They have won each of the last 12 series begun by him, including a program-record nine series wins to start this season.
His consistency has helped power Georgia Tech to a 31-5 record and No. 2 national ranking, after a sweep of No. 5 Florida State this past weekend and a mid-week win over Georgia Southern on Tuesday. The Yellow Jackets have tied the best 36-game start to a season in program history, and are on a 13-game winning streak, their longest since 2011 and the second longest active streak in Division I, behind only No. 1 UCLA.
Seven of Georgia Tech’s wins during the streak have come against top-15 opponents (No. 14 NC State, No. 11 Auburn, No. 5 Florida State). The Yellow Jackets take that momentum into a pivotal ACC road series this weekend at No. 3 North Carolina. McKee will take the mound for the Friday-night opener.
Georgia Tech finished last season as the ACC regular-season champions and advanced to the 64-team NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years, but the program hasn’t reached the College World Series (the final eight teams of the tournament) since 2006. McKee and company are hoping to change that.
While McKee’s performance has been steady on the mound, his growth off the field has been a major part of his development. Speaking on the heels of the 2025 season, he said on Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up?” podcast that he’s seen a noticeable shift in the team’s spiritual culture, particularly through Bible studies and consistent connection among players.
“This year to last year we had a big growth in our team with Bible studies and more people coming in,” he said. “It’s a true blessing. We get to see how many guys were getting together with Christ. Then, building that relationship with that small group chat that we had … just to build a small relationship through that was great.”
That environment has helped shape how he approaches the game on a daily basis.
“Baseball itself, I feel like every day you see little bits of Christ through even a practice game, stuff like that,” he said.
WHAT'S UP Tate McKee!
On Monday, you can listen to our full conversation with the @gtbaseball pitcher. @TateMckee1 shares about this past baseball season, what he's all about right now, leading at FCA, and more! Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/Q9jaTOd0gA
McKee’s growth on the mound mirrors his development over the past two seasons. As a freshman in 2024, he struck out 61 batters in 47 innings but finished with a 7.28 ERA while adjusting to the college level. By 2025, he had taken over as the team’s Friday night starter, opening all 16 series and helping lead Georgia Tech through the postseason with a 2.03 ERA in ACC and NCAA Tournament play.
This season, he’s taken another step forward, becoming one of the most reliable arms on one of the top teams in the country.
As he’s grown as a player, McKee has also been intentional about his own spiritual habits.
“I set a bunch of different goals for 2025 — different ways that I could connect with the Lord and build my relationship,” he said on the podcast. “I would say this year has been just such a blessing with being a part of the FCA leadership team, this reading plan I’m doing every day, journaling about Christ every day, it’s been awesome.”
Those routines have stayed consistent regardless of how he’s performed.
“Even when I was struggling down in those times [last] season, I was keeping consistent with what I was doing every day,” he said on the podcast.
That faith is something he carries with him onto the field as well. Through Georgia Tech’s partnership with 44 Gloves, McKee designed a custom black alligator-skin glove that features a teal and mint green cross along with Philippians 4:13.
“That’s probably one of my favorite gloves I’ve ever gotten,” he said. “To be out there pitching with Him on my glove, it’s very meaningful.”
His faith is also reinforced through relationships within the program, including with head coach James Ramsey and teammates. McKee is part of a group chat where he, Ramsey and other coaches send a Bible verse to each other every day.
“That’s just kind of how our relationship is,” McKee said. “Just knowing the guy running the show has a relationship, like me, with Christ, that means so much.”
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE, FEATURING DAVID POLLACK
David Pollack is a former University of Georgia All-American linebacker, who was a first-round draft pick in 2005 by the Cincinnati Bengals. After his playing career, he spent more than a decade at ESPN as a college football analyst. He is also the co-host of the “Family Goals” podcast and the host of the “See Ball Get Ball” podcast.
Today on Sports Spectrum, we welcome David Pollack back to the show as he provides an update on his wife’s battle with brain cancer, trusting God in the storms of life, his just-released book “Every Day Counts,” and the 2026 NFL Draft.
