The expectations were so high but sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow has exceeded them. Take a look at how productive he has been through four games.
Tebow leads the SEC in total offense at 363.5 yards per outing. That number is better than what four teams - South Carolina (354), Vanderbilt (353.7), Auburn (351.5) and Mississippi State (306.[img]{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_cool.gif[/img] – produce. Vanderbilt has played only three games. He's less than two yards off the pace of Ole Miss and Georgia. Tebow is a one-man wrecking crew.
Tebow has more passing yards than Kentucky's Andre Woodson and trails only Tennessee's Erik Ainge by 34 yards even though Ainge has 68 more attempts. Woodson has 1,008 passing yards on 134 attempts. Tebow has 1,096 yards on 95 attempts. Ainge leads the conference with 1,130 yards on 163 throws.
He's also near the top in rushing yards. Tebow is the top sophomore regardless of position in that category and the top quarterback in the league with an 89.5-yard average per game on 70 attempts. He blows away the competition with his total offense numbers. In second place is Ainge, who trails Tebow by 82.5 yards per outing.
Nationally, Tebow is fifth in total offense behind Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, Hawaii's Colt Brennan, Louisville's Brian Brohm and BYU's Max Hall. What's more impressive are these numbers: Tebow has 95 pass attempts. Harrell has 227. Brennan has 133. Brohm has 168 and Hall has thrown it 181 times.
"I'm 100 percent confident (in Tebow)," redshirt sophomore wide receiver David Nelson said. "If it's fourth-and-6 and we run a quarterback sneak, I know that he'll carry seven guys on his back to get the six yards. He's an unbelievable guy and a hard worker. Whatever it takes for him to get the first down or whatever we need, I'm confident he'll get it.
"He's in a league of his own. That's not a quarterback, that's a fullback in a quarterback's body. There's no other choice for a (defensive back). He has to go low to the legs or he's going to be on ESPN."
Tebow's numbers are among the best nationally – that's why he has entered the early Heisman Trophy discussion – and his performance in Florida's grinding 30-24 win over Ole Miss last weekend was an example of how valuable he is to the Gators.
When things got tough and Ole Miss started to think upset, Tebow wanted the ball in his hands. He rushed 27 times for 166 yards and two touchdowns and also completed 20 of 34 passes for 261 yards and two scores. Tebow hit sophomore wide receiver Percy Harvin a career-high 11 times for 121 yards and a TD.
"I'm 100 percent confident with the ball in Tebow's hands," said junior wide receiver Louis Murphy, who finished the Ole Miss game with two catches for 57 yards including a 37-yard touchdown reception.
Tebow refused to give the ball up late in the game, instead he absorbed the hits but got the yards to keep the clock running and win it. That's what Tebow cares about – the win.
He walked off the field to chants of "Tebow! Tebow!" from the Florida fans who made the trip to Oxford. Tebow sat in the underbelly of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium to answer reporters' questions. He had a sports drink on the table and wiped the sweat off his face with a towel. The one thing he couldn't wipe away was the smile. Nelson was asked if he's ever seen a player like Tebow.
"Nobody with his style of play," Nelson said. "Nobody who will look to run somebody over or try to find somebody to run over instead of running out of bounds."
Said coach Urban Meyer: "You're facing a team in an atmosphere that's starting to get a little ugly, and we've done this before with Alex Smith (at Utah) and with Josh Harris (at Bowling Green). You want to run the ball, but in the traditional run game you can plus them in the box any time you want. In the non-traditional run game, it's hard. That's single-win football.
"We can direct snap it to other guys, but (Tebow) just happens to be one of our best runners, probably our best runner. Our plan first of all is to win the game, so whatever means necessary, we'll win that, but we have to have somewhat intelligence about us and not put our players at risk. Tim is my worst enemy and his worst enemy, too. He's screaming on the sideline, 'give me the ball to win the game,' and I'm somewhat intelligent, 'OK, Tim.' We'll put a little more thought into it."
the legend continues
the legend continues
This is why I love this guy. He will NOT be denied and whatever mistakes he makes they will not be out of fear or non-competitiveness.Tebow refused to give the ball up late in the game, instead he absorbed the hits but got the yards to keep the clock running and win it. That's what Tebow cares about – the win.
Okay, let's try this!
