Four years ago Thursday, former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow torched LSU for three touchdowns in a 23-10 win, cementing himself as a perennial rushing and passing threat.
It was only his freshman year.
Tebow proceeded to beat LSU two of the next three years before moving on to the NFL in April. He handed the reins at Florida to junior John Brantley, who has a partner in crime this season in freshman Trey Burton.
Brantley contributes largely in the passing game for the Gators, averaging 180 yards per game through the air with a 61-percent completion rate, six touchdowns and three interceptions.
Burton presents a rushing threat at the quarterback spot and out of the Wildcat formation.
Although he averages only 12 yards rushing per game, Burton has scored seven touchdowns on the ground through five games, much like Tebow’s bread and butter. Tebow scored eight rushing touchdowns as a freshman.
Burton is No. 2 in the Southeastern Conference with eight total touchdowns and accounts for 9.6 points per game, also No. 2 in the SEC.
“[Burton] is more athletic than Tebow, it appears,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “Obviously, it would be a much more run style of offense with him in it.”
LSU junior cornerback Patrick Peterson has never faced a Florida quarterback other than Tebow, but he said Tebow’s absence does not mean LSU can play any softer defensively.
“You could call [Burton] the baby Tim Tebow,” Peterson said. “He’s out there running the Wildcat, the jump pass, playing tight end, playing fullback, doing all the extracurriculars for that offense.”
Tebow was not alone in the Florida quarterback corps in 2006, teaming with Chris Leak in a dual system that year.
Florida coach Urban Meyer said the Gators have to be careful not to become too predictable on offense with Brantley’s and Burton’s distinct skill sets.
“One thing about a running quarterback is you get very simple coverages,” Meyer said. “The LSU game out here when Tebow was at quarterback, we ran a wheel route that was wide open because they were all down for the run. So it’s the creativity part you’ve got to get better, but you’ve got to make sure you’re executing at a high level.”
Brantley had one of his weaker games against Alabama this past weekend, throwing two interceptions and no touchdowns with a 16-of-31 performance.
Another Gator turnover came when Burton tried to convert a jump pass — much like Tebow — on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. The throw was picked off in the end zone by Alabama linebacker Nico Johnson, killing Florida’s attempt to take the lead on its opening drive.
Brantley said one lesson he learned from the Alabama loss was to be firm in the pocket to avoid pressure-packed throws and turnovers.
“With the two interceptions I threw, I had happy feet,” Brantley said.
Florida went 1-for-4 in the red zone against Alabama, converting only a field goal to open the third quarter. Two of those drives were stymied by turnovers.
Meyer said Florida’s goal is to continue utilizing Burton in short-yardage situations in hopes of improving the Gators’ 78.3-percent scoring rate in the red zone, No. 10 in the SEC.
“We felt good going into Alabama. Now we don’t feel good again,” Meyer said. “[Burton] did such a fine job against Kentucky in the red zone [scoring six touchdowns], but … we didn’t have the opportunity to get Trey free against a really good defense.”
LSU’s defense will also be a tough test for Florida, as it leads the SEC in total defense and stands at No. 4 in red zone defense.
 
 
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