He quarterbacked some of the most prolific offenses the University of Florida has ever seen but the Florida Gators have been searching for a quarterback ever since Tim Tebow left Gainesville in 2010.
Tebow is back in Gainesville with the show SEC Nation. The show has been to the site of Florida’s last three games, giving Tebow the opportunity to watch his alma mater up close in a 24-10 win over Georgia and then last week’s 31-10 loss to Arkansas. The offense has struggled to string together drives and create momentum, something that Tebow believes is the key to getting the offense going.
“I think its get a little bit of confidence and momentum. I touch on that a lot but I really believe in it when you’re dealing with 18-to-22 year olds, confidence and getting in a rhythm and momentum is so important,” he said. “All these kids have so much talent but sometimes the difference between getting it done and stalling is the confidence to believe in yourself and momentum behind you to be able to rally the troops a little bit.”
It’s the second week of November and Florida still doesn’t have an identity on offense. The team has said it wants to be a run-first offense that wins up front and throws after establishing the run but it has yet to materialize.
“Injuries, miscues, not being able to get things rolling, not being able to find that one or two plays in a game that kind of triggers you where everything is just so much easier after that,” Tebow offered up as explanations why the offense has yet to find an identity. “There’s been chances where it looks like it’s starting to click. Kentucky game, early in the Tennessee game where it looks like it’s starting to click and then something just doesn’t go well.”
Jim McElwain has caught heat from fans and media for the way the offense has performed. On Monday when posed a question about the offense struggling “a little bit” McElwain corrected the reporter, “a lot a bit.”
“You still have to be able do some things up front that doesn’t disrupt what you’re trying to get accomplished to get a rhythm going — and we didn’t do a very good job of that,” McElwain said. “We’ve done that at times, and we’ve got to be able to do that for us to be successful. We continue to get parts here and we’ve got to get the parts to work together. That’s where it is.”
It starts with instability at quarterback. Luke Del Rio had a great game against Kentucky completing 19-of-32 (59.4%) of his pass attempts for four touchdowns. The Gators rolled that week to a 45-7 win before Del Rio sprained his MCL the following week against North Texas. That thrust Purdue graduate transfer Austin Appleby into the starting rotation. The Gators had a second half meltdown that resulted in the school’s first loss to Tennessee in over a decade and another lackluster performance against Vanderbilt the following week exasperated frustrations.
Appleby returns to the starting lineup this weekend against South Carolina. Florida will have true freshman Feleipe Franks waiting in the wings ready to play if need be but the hope is that Appleby will be able to provide the stability and consistency Florida has been searching for on offense. Tebow knows McElwain’s track record coaching quarterbacks and he believes the head coach has what it takes to get Florida’s offense back on track.
“McElwain is someone who knows how to coach quarterbacks,” Tebow said. “Everywhere he’s gone his quarterbacks have succeeded. I think he’ll continue to work with the quarterbacks and he’ll get the offense right.”