Tim Tebow vs. Marcus Mariota: Who Transitions Better to the NFL?
4. Level of Competition
Advantage: Tim Tebow
This is only No. 4 on the list because the level of competition is not by a significant margin. Marcus Mariota played in a Pac-12 conference that was much tougher than it was while Tim Tebow was playing for Florida in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
But it still is not on the level that the SEC was at during Tebow’s time.
For starters, Mariota played in the Pac-12 North, by far the weaker division in the conference, and he had trouble getting past Stanford two out of the three years, the one good team in that division.
Tebow, meanwhile, played in an SEC East that was much tougher than it is right now. Do not forget that for two of his three years as a starter, Georgia was a Top 10 team with Matthew Stafford. Tennessee was a Top 12 team one year. South Carolina was relevant under Steve Spurrier, Kentucky was a bowl team all three years, and even Vanderbilt, the worst team in the conference, made a bowl one year.
At the same time, Florida drew LSU from the West every year. They also played Alabama twice in the SEC Championship game when the Tide got back to elite status. Oh, and they played Auburn their last good year under Tommy Tuberville, Arkansas while they were good under Bobby Petrino, Ole Miss while they were good under Houston Nutt, and Florida State every year.
Sorry Oregon fans, but Stanford and Washington followed by Washington State, Oregon State, Cal, and Colorado all at their worst does not cut it.
Score: Tim Tebow Leads 2-0
Next: #3: Who Did More With Less?