Tebow, Rodgers have different takes on Fromm

ATLANTA – SEC Network analysts Tim Tebow and Jordan Rodgers have very different takes on Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm as it pertains to Saturday’s SEC Championship (4 p.m., CBS).

Quite different, indeed.

“I expect him to be under a lot of pressure. I really do. I think Auburn is going to heat him up,” Tebow, the former Heisman Trophy winner from Florida, said. “I think they’re going to do their best to take away the run, take away the air in the passing game.

“What I mean by that is play press man-to-man coverage, and if they do switch to a zone, it’s going to be a zone dog where they’re bringing pressure and try to take away the hitches and the slants to make him throw it down the field.”

Unlike Tebow, Rodgers, a former Vanderbilt quarterback, believes Fromm will do just fine and expects a more composed version from what we saw in the Bulldogs’ 40-17 loss at Auburn three weeks ago.

“I think I’m expecting to see him more poised under pressure. Not that he hasn’t been, but once you get a game under your belt like they did the last time they played Auburn, you learn a lot,” Rodgers said. “Despite the score that was on the board, I think it was important that he experienced a game of adversity, especially a game as a quarterback.”

Rodgers drew from his own experience as a freshman quarterback to explain exactly what he meant.

“I remember being a young quarterback, you have a couple of those moments and you feel like you can hold your head a little higher, even if it is a loss,” Rodgers said. “I expect him to be more prepared for the adversity of the day. We’re going to see a more grown-up Jake Fromm. I think he’s talented. They’re going to need a lot from him.”

Fromm completed 13 of 28 passes for 184 yards against the Tigers, but also missed some downfield opportunities that both Tebow and Rodgers believe actually could have made a difference in the game.

“That’s why I think my x-factor in the game would be (Javon) Wims winning one-on-one. If he can come up with big catches …,” Tebow said. “You really go back to the last time these two teams matched up, if he had hit a couple of the deep passes they had in the first half, Georgia is winning by at least seven at halftime and it’s a completely different game.

“I think that’s such a big part of this game, if they can get those matchups, can they buy enough time, offensive line, play-action, whatever it is to get the one on one down the field and then convert? That’s probably the biggest key of the game.”

Whatever happens, Rodgers feels the experience at Auburn will definitely serve Fromm well.

“He grew up a full year in a game, essentially,” Rodger said. “Having not been tested too much earlier in the season or at times, he got thrown in the fire and especially when you get down early, you’ve got to throw the ball to get out of it. That’s not the game Georgia is built for but it’s the kind of game they needed to get him ready for moments like this.”