Tim Tebow reacts to Alabama's decision to start Tyler Buchner, bench Jalen Milroe

Tim Tebow had a strong reaction to the news on Friday that Alabama will turn to transfer quarterback Tyler Buchner to make a start at South Florida this weekend, benching Jalen Milroe. Tebow, on the “Paul Finebaum Show,” shared his reservations for making a move like this.

Milroe turned in a subpar showing against Texas in a loss last Sunday, including throwing two ill-advised passes that resulted in interception. But Tebow thinks Milroe could’ve used some more help from his teammates and that this move to swap him out for Buchner can have consequences in regards to the locker room dynamic, perhaps unforeseen.

“I think when you look at last week’s game, there are some plays that Jalen really wants back, that he made some mistakes in that game that really hurt them. But there was also a lot of other areas that Alabama had weaknesses,” Tebow said. “Their offensive line did not perform. They had pressure on him the entire day. I don’t think it’s fair to Jalen to put this all on him. It’s on a lot of areas at Alabama and I think it’s the — from the coaching staff to the physicality to the playmakers to also some of it’s on Jalen, it goes all the way around.”

Tebow also questioned the decision given that by the end of fall camp, Milroe had slightly separated from the rest of the quarterbacks. He doesn’t think a bad performance against what is likely a Top 5 outfit in Texas, especially when others have slack to pick up, warrants this swap.

Tebow also understands the upside and reasoning to play Buchner, too. The quarterback transferred from Notre Dame and has a higher level of familiarity with new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Buchner is also likely a notch or two better as a passer, but while sacrificing notable pop in the quarterback run game.

Whether or not this move pays immediate dividends, Tebow doesn’t think starting Buchner over Milroe will be doomsday for Alabama by any stretch. But he is just left wondering if it’s the healthy move in the long term?

“Now we don’t get to see all the practices, and so there could be a lot going on there. But when you had all the support after Week 1 and everybody’s saying what a great job and the support of his teammates, and then one week that doesn’t go your way — but this is what I think is so important: Yes, he did not perform up to his ability but you could say that about a lot of the players at Alabama,” Tebow said. “You could say that about the offensive and defensive line. And I think I just really want to be fair, let’s not put this all on Jalen. It’s on the entire team.”

And when he again factors in that Texas might be one of the best teams in the country and that Alabama, which lost by 10 at home, wasn’t as far out of the game as it might’ve felt at moments or after the fact, Tebow wonders if sticking with Milroe and letting him grow might not be the best bet.

“I think that he still did a lot of really good things. And let’s give credit to Texas. Texas was bringing the house, they were bringing a lot of blitzes, Alabama didn’t pick many of them up. Texas is a Top 5 football team, one of the best in the country. And Alabama’s not that far away. They really are not that far away. They made a lot of mistakes, offense, defense and special teams that if they fixed a little bit, it could’ve been a different ending,” Tebow said. “So I think it’s important for ‘Bama fans to step back and say, ‘The sky’s not falling.'”