We're counting down the top 5 quarterbacks in SEC history, starting with last week's pick, Fran Tarkenton, coming in at #3. Here's our #2 pick:
#2 – Tim Tebow, Florida Gators (2006-2009)
This is the point in our countdown where things get very tough, but ultimately we went with Tim Tebow as the #2 SEC quarterback of All-Time. In looking through other lists, it's interesting how sports fans seem to judge Tebow in a very black and white way. Some either consider him an NFL bust and a disappointment so they leave him out of any ‘Top College QBs” lists, or others make the case that his stats throughout his college football career at Florida were second to none, and in those people's lists he's a “no brainer” #1.
Related: The Top 5 SEC Quarterbacks of All-Time–#5: Joe Namath
Numbers Don't Lie
Factually, there's a lot of truth to the argument that Tebow's accomplishments and pure stats during his time as QB for the Florida Gators are second to none. Tebow was the definition of a total package QB at the collegiate level, and his stats prove it: he had a career 88 TD passes and only 16 INT, he threw for just under 10,000 yards finishing with 9,286, and he had a career 67.1% completion and a career average 170.8 passer rating. Tebow's dual threat on the ground was similarly very clear, especially when looking at his career stats as Florida's QB–he ran for 57 touchdowns, carried the ball just barely under 700 times ultimately finishing with 692 carries, and ran for nearly 3,000 yards as a QB with a final count of 2,947 rushing yards.
Awards Galore
Tebow's stats are just the very beginning; when you start to look into his accomplishments on the team level and then his subsequent individual awards, you begin to understand why many put him in the center of the debate for the greatest college football quarterback of all-time. Tebow entered the University of Florida on a full scholarship in 2006, where he initially assumed the role of back-up QB rather than taking the route of redshirting like so many other phenomenal recruits do in their first year of eligibility. Then after being named the Gators starter in 2007, despite many serious concerns about his potentially underdeveloped passing ability, Tebow quickly silenced his doubters in his first game of the 2007 season–he threw for 300 yards on 13 of 17 passes (76.5% completion percentage), to go along with three touchdown passes.
This accomplishment proved to be just the beginning as Tebow finished the 2007 season with the second highest passing efficiency in the entire nation at 177.8, to go along with 4.3 yards per average carry, a stellar figure for a starting QB. After setting other numerous schools, national, and personal records, Tebow was awarded the highly coveted Heisman Trophy Award, in addition to being named a Consensus All-American and a First-Team All-SEC selection. He also won the Davey O'Brien Award in 2007 – an annual award given to the nation's best Quarterback – despite Tim's Gators losing to the Michigan Wolverines 41-35 in the Capital One Bowl.
Related: The Top 5 SEC Quarterbacks of All-Time–#4:Eli Manning
Entering the 2008 season as the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman Trophy, Urban Meyer–the Florida Gators head coach at the time–announced he would utilize a two QB rotation to take some of the workload off Tebow. On November 1, 2018, Tebow ran for his 37th career touchdown as a Florida Gator, breaking the then-school record held by Emmitt Smith, who some of you may know as the undisputed greatest running back in NFL history.
After an extraordinary 12-1 season, Florida beat the always dangerous Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game, earning them a spot against the nationally No.1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS National Championship game. Tebow's Gators would go on to beat the Sooners by a score of 24-14, capping off a historic season. Though Tebow received the most first-place Heisman Trophy votes this season, which count as 3 points each, he ultimately finished third as the award went to Sam Bradford.
Pro or No?
Despite having by anyone's standards an extremely impressive 2008 season, Tebow announced very early that he would be returning to Florida for his 2009 senior season. While this was not surprising given that his QB style was anything but one of an NFL QB making him a pretty undesirable high-round draft pick, it did expose him to further risk of injury in what was already an injury-plagued career.
Unfortunately, that's precisely what happened–in the third quarter of a game against Kentucky, which Tebow started despite needing two bags of intravenous fluids before the game to manage a respiratory illness, he took a hit to the back of the head that knocked him out motionless. When he was seen on the sidelines awake but disoriented, he vomited and was immediately taken to a local hospital where he was diagnosed with a severe concussion. Whether you root for Florida and Tebow or not, as a college sports fan, you hate to see something like that happen–and while Tebow's stats can be argued as the best for a QB in SEC history, his attitude, consistent ‘110%' effort, and competitive drive can't be quantified.
Related: Top 5 Schools in the SEC for College Athletes
Tebow wound up being cleared to play in the Gators very next game on the road against LSU and few were surprised to see him under center for the Gators that game, without missing a single snap after the concussion. Then on October 31, 2009, in a game against the Georgia Bulldogs, Tim ran for his 50th and 51st touchdowns of his collegiate career, breaking the SEC all-time touchdown record, which was previously held by running back Herschel Walker, a 3x SEC Player of the Year, 3x Consensus All-American, 3x First-Team All-SEC selection, and very widely considered to be the best college running back in history.
Ending in Defeat
Despite another historic year for Tebow, the Crimson Tide wound up getting revenge on the Gators in the 2009 SEC Championship game, beating them 32-13. Tebow and the Florida Gators lost their opportunity to play for a repeat National Championship. Instead, Tebow's last college game was the Sugar Bowl, where the Florida Gators manhandled the Cincinnati Bearcats 51-24. In typical Tebow fashion, he went out with a bang–Tebow completed 31 passes out of 35 attempts (89% completion percentage), threw for 482 yards and three touchdowns, ran for an additional touchdown, and along with those four touchdowns produced 533 yards of total offense; a Bowl Championship Series record.
When his college career was over, Tebow held a combined 47 NCAA, SEC, and Florida University school records. For all the heat he's taken about his inability to be an effective passer as a QB when Tebow graduated he was the SEC's all-time leader in career passing efficiency (170.8), completion percentage (67.1%), and passing TD-INT ratio (5.5-1). That goes along with many SEC rushing records for a QB, such as a career rushing yards by a QB with 2,947, rushing touchdowns by an athlete in any position with 57, and total touchdowns with 145.
NFL Bust?
As many sports fans already know, all of this led to Tebow getting his shot in the NFL when the Denver Broncos selected him in the 1st round of the 2010 NFL Draft with the 25th overall pick, despite concerns from many of the most respected football scouts and analysts about his throwing ability. Unfortunately, the experts turned out to be right, as Tebow's tenure with the Broncos was short-lived, lasting only two seasons. After going to the New York Jets for a year and shuffling between the practice squad of a couple of other teams, Tebow called his NFL dream's off and pursued a career in professional baseball, while also earning a college football analyst/commentator job at ESPN. However, Tim Tebow still is and likely always will be a household name–he'll always be synonymous with the SEC and college football in general. But with that being said, he came up short of the #1 spot because of his exceptionally disappointing post-college football career.
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Image Credit: Only Gators
* Originally published on February 8, 2023, by 2aDays Staff
