Published: July 25, 2009 10:25 pm         

Larry Fleming: New QB may just need time

In late July, fanatical fans across the country — especially in the South, where football has been a religion for decades — begin thinking of late August and early September, when the season is no longer considered upcoming. At that point, it’s basically here.

Practice begins soon. Fall practice, that is. Football players are always practicing or lifting weights, studying film or playing games.

Obviously, the degree of success all that work produces varies widely from player to player and team to team.

That’s why people shouldn’t compare a quarterback here against a quarterback over there. Take Joe Cox and Tim Tebow, for instance. Honestly, there is no comparison.

A lot of people, coaches among them, believe Tebow is the best college football player ever. That’s absurd. He’s good, probably closer to great. But stop and think a minute before anointing him as the greatest of all time.

Is Cox even the best quarterback in the state of Georgia? Maybe. Maybe not. If Cox were at Florida, he would be doing this year what he’s done for three years at Georgia — watch another quarterback (in this case, Tebow) throw and run defenses silly while he signals in plays from the sideline.

But don’t slight Cox. The 6-foot-1, 198-pounder from Charlotte, N.C., was the Gatorade Player of the Year in North Carolina in 2004. He has good skills.

As it turned out, Matthew Stafford was a pretty darn good prep player in football-mad Texas and no slouch at Georgia. Stafford’s considerable ability put Cox in the shadows, but he’s ready to assume control of the Bulldogs offense now that Stafford has become the NFL’s No. 1 draft pick and will try to pull the Detroit Lions out of the depths of football futility.

In three seasons at Georgia, Cox has thrown 58 passes — he completed 33 of them — for 432 yards and five touchdowns. That’s one good game for Tebow, who has passed for 6,390 yards — including 3,786 in 2007 — and 110 touchdowns in three years in Gainesville. Cox has rushed for 15 yards. Tebow has 2,037 yards on the ground with 43 touchdowns.

But here’s one thing Georgia fans should consider. Cox probably has as much confidence in his abilities as does Tebow.

“I have stepped into my role as a leader of this team,” Cox said Thursday at the Southeastern Conference Media Days in Hoover, Ala., according to notes posted on the league’s Web site. “I am right where I want to be. I’ve worked hard and a lot of guys look up to me and are ready and willing to follow me.”

Cox hasn’t won a Heisman Trophy or two national championships, as Tebow has done, but he believes he can direct Georgia to a successful season this year. Cox was 31-0 as the starting quarterback at Independence High School and set a North Carolina record with 66 touchdown passes while leading his team to its fifth straight state title as a senior. Cox can get it done, folks.

“I don’t think there’s any player on this team that doesn’t believe Joe was ready last season,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “And the year before. If something were to happen to Matt, they knew Joe was ready to go. They believe in Joe right now, as the staff does, and I do certainly.”

Obviously, Urban Meyer has the same confidence in Tebow.

Everyone who follows the college game in America knows Tebow. I’d venture to say few know anything about Cox.

“Is that Bobby Cox you’re asking me about?,” one might respond.

“No, we’re talking about Joe Cox, the University of Georgia quarterback,” the questioner would say.

“Well, you’ve stumped me there,” he might answer. “Don’t know Joe Cox.”

Tim Tebow is the marquee name in college football today. He’s on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He spiritually lifts hardened criminals in prisons all over Florida with his faith-based messages. He wears Philippians 4:13 eye-black patches on his face during games.

Within his obscurity in Athens, Joe Cox is just hoping to get the job done.

There is just no comparison between the two quarterbacks, and that’s not meant to slight Cox at all. After Steve Spurrier corrected his bone-headed mistake, every coach in the SEC voted for Tebow as the league’s top quarterback in the preseason, including Richt.

That, as Walter Cronkite used to say, is how it is.

One reporter at the SEC media days asked Tebow if he was aware that some people around the country are tired of hearing about him.

“I think sometimes you would like to go to a restaurant without people trying to take your picture,” Tebow said. “But you also think about it, because of that, because of the articles that y’all have written and because of the articles that people continue to write, it’s not only backlash from it, but there’s also a lot of positive.”

Many people don’t like Tebow and despise Florida. I never thought much of Spurrier, and we’ve had run-ins here and there over the years, but I respected him as a coach and what he did to completely change the offensive philosophy in the SEC.

I don’t know Tim Tebow. I’ve read a lot of those articles that he spoke about. It’s hard not to watch him on television, or in person, to see what he might do next and believe he’s not the best quarterback in college football at this point in time.

He’s that good.

Joe Cox is probably a really good player as well. But it’s hard to prove it standing on the sidelines.

Let’s see what he can do under pressure. Let’s see how he reacts to being “the man” in Georgia’s offense. Let’s see how he handles adversity, as well as success.

He might just turn out to be a keeper.

Larry Fleming is sports editor of The Daily Citizen. You can write to him at [email protected].

     

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