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Florida coach Urban Meyer talks about his Gator football team. Watch »

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TAMPA — Wednesday night in Los Angeles, Florida coach Urban Meyer watched Tim Tebow, his star quarterback, win an ESPY Award for Best Male College Athlete.

He saw Tebow flash his All-American smile, the same as he did when he accepted the Heisman Trophy last year. The same as does seemingly everywhere he goes.

Then, Meyer scanned the room.

"You see some of the great athletes and coaches walking around," he said Thursday, as he spoke with reporters at the Florida Sports Writers Association college football media days. "I just looked at each guy and tried to measure them by how many championships they've won."

That's how Meyer will measure himself. How he will measure Tebow. How he will measure every great player who takes the field for Florida this season.

The Gators do, after all, return 16 starters, including the first junior to ever begin the fall with a Heisman to his name.

"The award I hope Florida gets," Meyer said, "is a team award."

In the SEC, it's never easy. Georgia, LSU and others will have similar expectations.

But the Gators, who followed their BCS championship run in 2006 with a 9-4 season last year, are among the favorites to once again challenge for the national crown.

They have added another bumper crop of freshman recruits, players Meyer hopes can add depth to a defense that surrendered 25.5 points per game last season.

There is the promise, too, of a more stable rushing attack, thanks in part to USC transfer Emanuel Moody's entering the fray.

And, of course, there is Tebow, the first sophomore to win college football's top award. He'll be the centerpiece once again, but maybe with a different role.

Maybe.

Meyer would like to see Tebow throw more and run less. That's the plan. Whether it happens, though, will be determined by the success of the running backs.

"At the end of the day," Meyer said, "we've got to be on the left-hand side of the column. We're going to do whatever we think it takes to win."