08-31-2013, 11:06 PM
sekker wrote:
I think there's even more of a difference between NFL and college football than other sports with overt jumps like basketball. NFL players are just so much faster, and defenses are so much better coached that you see how even a great college QB gets overwhelmed.
I lived during the Mike White era at Illinois. He was amazing at coaching his college QBs into quality NFL prospects (was a poor overall college coach, but that's a discussion for another time). I've never seen the like - in my 9 years in Urbana, IL, I think IL produced 5 legitimate starting NFL quarterbacks (Wilson, Eason, Trudeau, George all come to mind, I'm sure there's another). Tebow would not have cut it with Mike White at IL - he wouldn't have been offered a scholarship due to his poor mechanics. I don't think IL has produced any since.
Then no wonder Mike White never made it as a top-tier college coach! Why wouldn't he have taken Tebow? Isn't the goal to win college games regardless of whether his players subsequently have a pro career? After all, college ball isn't suppose to be the minor league for pro ball (few if any coaches get contracts extended solely for having former players start on pro teams).
You mentioned the difference between college and pro football, and you're absolutely correct. In addition, to a tremendous speed difference, the pro game is also stronger. So, whereas Tebow could always break the first and often the second tackle, that didn't happen enough in pro games. Moreover, those hits in the pros are much more punishing (ask Mike Vick and RGIII). Therefore, Tebow always had time to survey the field and pick apart a defense in College or run if no one was open. If he ran, there wasn't much of a price to pay when he was tackled. That time is cut in half or more in the Pros. It's not that Tebow can't read a pro defense, it's more that he doesn't process the data fast enough to be effective. Plenty of time to find an open receiver in College, not nearly enough time in the pros. Add to that Tebow's inability to "zip" passes in with sufficient velocity, and you have someone who was a phenomenal college player--and definitely deserving of his Heisman-- who can't cut it as a pro.
Thus, I doubt that you'd find many college coaches who wouldn't take Tebow, but it's hard to believe that any pro coaches will take him at quarterback.