Billy Napier Replacement is Today And Florida legend Tim Tebow announce his return back with full commitment….
Billy Napier Replacement is Today And Florida legend Tim Tebow announce his return back with full commitment….
“Florida is incredible, but it can also be a pressure cooker,” Tebow told Sporting News. “Listen, senior year we felt it the whole year and we had won two championships in three years and felt like we couldn’t do a thing right.”
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Tim Tebow talks Billy Napier hot seat
Tebow – who helped unveil the 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team this week – knows the hot-seat questions are coming concerning Billy Napier — who fell to 12-16 in his third season with the Gators after a 33-20 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday. Tebow knows how that must feel as Florida (1-2) heads into a matchup at Mississippi State (1-2) on Saturday.
“You go to Starkville, and if you can get a win there it always helps,” Tebow said. “I think it wasn’t just the loss to Miami (in the opener). I think it was the way they lost that frustrated people.”
Florida lost to Miami 41-17 in the Aug. 31 opener. That set the tone for a rough third season for Napier – which was already pinned against a brutal SEC schedule that features five ranked teams in the final seven games, including No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Texas, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 6 Tennessee and No. 16 LSU.
Tebow does not envy that hot-seat talk that Napier is going through. Tebow also debunked any notion that he would return to Florida in a coaching role – “I feel called in other areas.” Yet Tebow does have a few suggestions that the Gators might want to pay attention to in the future. That starts at the quarterback position – and it is not the answer you might think.
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Tim Tebow addresses Florida QB situation
Starter Graham Mertz suffered a concussion in the opener. He has 286 yards, one TDs and two interceptions in two games. Freshman DJ Lagway has 541 yards, four TDs and three interceptions, but he struggled in the loss to Texas A&M. Napier revealed both quarterbacks will play against Mississippi State in Week 4.
“You hear all the quick changes people want to make, like, ‘Oh, you have to start DJ,'” Tebow said. “I love DJ. I’m a massive DJ fan. He is a friend of mine. He is going to be a great player and I think he has a chance to be a superstar, but he is also a better young man. The quarterback situation hasn’t been the issue.”
So, what does Tebow think the biggest problem is on the field?
“We are not winning with the determination and toughness up front on both sides of the ball, and in the SEC you can’t be in second- and third-and-long,” Tebow said. “You just can’t. When you are put in those situations, the recipe is for disaster.”
The Gators rank 120th in the FBS with a 27.6% third-down conversion percentage, which is slightly ahead of Florida State at 26.3%.
