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Tebow Still Has Room For Improvement

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By Karl Hyppolite

Tribune Correspondent

Published: August 29, 2008

Gainesville - After QB Tim Tebow claimed a Heisman trophy and put up gaudy numbers, one would expect that there isn't much he could do to improve as a quarterback.

Offensive coordinator Dan Mullen disagrees. Though the junior quarterback put up some of the most prolific numbers college football has ever seen Mullen said that Tebow can improve by continuing to develop his pocket presence and making faster reads.

Unlike other areas improving in these areas isn't something that can be coached directly. They are the product of experience and adapting to new situations.

"No. 1 it's reps and doing something over and over," Mullen said. "I was looking at something and I think it said Brett Favre had 28,000 snaps under center for the Green Bay Packers. He's had some good reps to see what's going on and make good decisions out there on the field.

"Tim has had about 900 reps so when we get him over the 20,000 mark we'll be in good shape right there."

Despite winning that Heisman, Tebow is aware that he still has a lot to improve on as a quarterback. And the area where Tebow may need the most work is in leading his team to more victories after suffering four losses last season.

"A quarterback's career at the University of Florida is judged on championships," Mullen said. "That's what your career is based on, not individual awards. That's his No. 1 focus, that we win.

NOT A PREVIEW: Don't tell Coach Urban Meyer that Florida's opener against Hawaii is merely a warm-up. Even though Hawaii lost starting quarterback Colt Brennan and Coach June Jones, Meyer is expecting a tough matchup.

"I'm not sure what a preview is. We're playing a big-time college football game against a team that went 12-0," he said. "It's not a preview it's a major college football game."

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