Florida QB Tebow laughs off criticism

Jan 6, 2009 - 9:19 PM By Bob Birge PA SportsTicker Staff Writer

Florida doesn't need extra motivation for Thursday's BCS national championship game against Oklahoma.

But Sooners defensive back Dominique Franks provided the Gators with plenty of bulletin board material.

Franks suggested Saturday that Florida's Tim Tebow would be no better than the fourth-best quarterback in the Big 12 Conference.

In typical fashion, Tebow, who exudes class, shrugged off the comments.

"That might have been a compliment," Tebow said. "I'm thankful for being fourth. There's a lot of good quarterbacks in the Big 12."

Tebow was further asked if he felt insulted by Franks' comments. If he was, he elected to keep his thoughts to himself.

"We don't really need to talk about that," he added. "We need to talk about our team."

However, it might not be a good idea to get the Florida junior angry. Do not be fooled by his laid-back demeanor.

After the Gators' 31-30 home defeat to Mississippi on September 27, Tebow apologized to Florida fans and made a vow that no one would out-work him for the remainder of the season.

"I promise you one thing, a lot of good will come out of this," Tebow said at the time. "You will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season.

"You will never see another player push his team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season. You will never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season."

Tebow's comments inspired his teammates, as the Gators responded by winning nine straight games by double figures, including a 31-20 victory over Alabama in the SEC championship game.

Florida shook off the Ole Miss loss with a 38-7 victory at Arkansas the following week, and the Gators haven't looked back since.

"The weight of the world was on his shoulders, and I thought after the Arkansas game he changed back to being Tim Tebow," Florida coach Urban Meyer said. "He was someone else there for a minute, but he came back with a vengeance."

While Tebow's numbers aren't as eye-popping as Sam Bradford's - his opponent Thursday - he has thrown just two interceptions the entire season, including none in the last six games.

Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin thinks Franks' comment may come back to haunt the Sooners.

"What people don't realize is you never want to wake up a sleeping giant," Harvin said. "You kind of want to leave (Tebow) alone because now you have to deal with him running even harder than he would have before. So good luck."

Of course, Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes responded to Frank's comments in kind, calling the Big 12 defenses "a joke."

"That's what it is," Spikes said during Monday's media day. "When I watch SportsCenter, I look at the scores and it's 56-49, just basketball scores.

"Ole Miss ran up and down the field on a Big 12 defense (Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl). It's just crazy. That's just my perception of the Big 12 defenses."

Ever the diplomat, Tebow wouldn't take the bait when asked about Oklahoma's defense.

"I think they're a really good defense," he said. "When they needed to step up and make plays, they have. They've made some defensive stands and they've caused a lot of turnovers."

Still, Spikes may have a point as the Big 12 has not distinguished itself during the bowl season, an indication that the high scores during the regular season may have been at least partially the result of shaky defenses.

While Ole Miss ran all over Texas Tech, 47-34, Oregon hammered Oklahoma State, 42-31, in the Holiday Bowl.

Nebraska recorded a solid 26-21 victory over Clemson in the Gator Bowl and Kansas handled Minnesota, 42-21, in the Insight Bowl.

However, Missouri needed overtime to get past an average Northwestern team, 30-23, in the Alamo Bowl and Texas required a late drive to hold off Ohio State, 24-21, in the Fiesta Bowl.

Now Tebow is looking to become the latest quarterback to exploit a Big 12 defense - and make Franks eat his words.