Tim Tebow raves about Georgia offense, its stars Beck and Bowers

ATHENS, Ga. — SEC Network’s traveling game day show SEC Nation is in town for Georgia-Kentucky with its star-studded cast of Laura Rutledge, Paul Finebaum, Jordan Rodgers, Roman Harper and, of course, Tim Tebow. The former Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner has had his eyes on the Bulldogs this week ahead of the trip to Athens, and it’s safe to say he’s a believer in the UGA offense.

“Every year is different, and every year you’re going to have to learn, grow and adapt to your players. I think Coach Bobo is doing some really good things, especially in the second half with adjustments, that’s kind of where they’ve excelled so far,” Tebow said in his assessment of the Georgia offense.

“I think Coach Bobo is continuing to adapt and grow and is putting as much as he feels the team and the quarterback and the system and the game plan allows for,” he continued. “You’ve got a quarterback that’s in a much different place than Stetson was. Stetson was like 39 last year, and Carson, even though he’s older, is playing in his fifth start or something like that. You’ll continue to see more put in, but I really like the adjustments they’ve made. Love what they’ve done in the fourth quarters when the games have been on the line. It’ll be fun to continue to see how it adapts, and it’s also important to remember, it wasn’t always the offense that sometimes people remember through the whole year. There was the Missouri game, Kent State game, other times where they were continuing to learn and grow. Sometimes when we look back it gets fictional. ‘Man they just blew everybody out.’ Not every game was that highlight reel for them, and I think sometimes it’s important to be patient and enjoy those wins.”

Diving in deeper on Carson Beck, the first-year starter at quarterback, Tebow has been impressed with the way he’s come through in the clutch.

“He’s played his best when his best has been needed,” Tebow said. “I mentioned it last week on the show, I was just so impressed with his mentality when they had a tough first half against South Carolina and the camera is on him and he winks at the camera as to say, ‘It’s okay, we’ve got this.’ He came out and had a really good second half, against Auburn a really good fourth quarter, made plays and has had a lot of those best plays in the second half. If you’re a Georgia fan, that’s a really nice sign.”

“It’s easy in today’s offense to put up nice stats here and there, but in the hard moments, to come through on third and long and fourth down and when you’re down seven at Jordan-Hare, that’s hard,” Tebow added. “That’s one of the hardest places in the country to play. We (2006 National Championship winning Florida) couldn’t win there. That’s difficult, so what he did in the fourth quarter, I think it earned a lot of respect from his teammates and definitely from me, and I know a lot of other people watching.”

On the season, Beck is 116-for-151 for 1,497 yards and seven scores. He had a career-best three touchdowns and 338 yards against UAB, only to be followed up by another 300-yard day (313 yards) versus Auburn. In doing so, Beck became just the third Georgia quarterback to throw for 300 yards in consecutive games in the last 20 years, joining Aaron Murray and Stetson Bennett.

Beck, who was 16-of-20 for 236 yards in the second half, threw a fourth-quarter score in the win over the Tigers to put UGA up 27-20 with just 2:52 to go in the game. On the receiving end of Beck’s passes several times in the second half, including the game-winner, was star tight end Brock Bowers. He hauled in eight passes on the day for a career-high 157 yards with six for 148 in the second half alone. According to Tebow, it’s days like that that should have Bowers firmly in the Heisman Trophy conversation.

“He’s in it,” Tebow said in a strong statement. “He’s in it. He’s in the conversation, and I think if you look at everything he does and really just don’t look at stats – I would encourage all the voters, please look at all the plays. Please looks at the jet sweeps, the motions, the way he draws defenders, the way he’s on slip screens with eyes on him allowing other players to get open, the way on third down he drew a couple of guys and now Ladd’s 1-on-1, when they run a toss sweep and he’s on the edge blocking down on a defensive end that outweighs him by probably 35 pounds and he locks his edge and runs the number with him to give Georgia a six yard gain. They need to look at all those plays.”

“I think when you look at all of it, I’m not saying he’s No. 1, I’m just saying that he is so in that conversation for me because of everything he does, and then on top of it, what he does in the clutch.”

Beck and Bowers will take the field Saturday night under the Sanford Stadium lights in their first ranked matchup of the season. No. 1 Georgia hosts No. 20 Kentucky in a game likely to play a big part in determining how things shake out in the SEC East. Kickoff time is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN with Georgia as 14.5-point favorites according to oddsmakers in Las Vegas.