Tim Tebow credits Ty Simpson, Gunner Stockton for having 'it-factor' in their game

Of all the things said about Tim Tebow‘s prolific football career, be it in college at Florida or in the NFL, the one undeniable truth about the Gators’ 2007 Heisman Trophy winner was his “it-factor” in crunch situations. When the pressure was on, Tebow generally always found a way to lead his team to victory.

And now in his role as an SEC Network analyst, the two-time BCS National Championship-winning quarterback sees many of the same clutch characteristics from two first-year SEC starters: Alabama‘s Ty Simpson and Georgia‘s Gunner Stockton.

“If there’s one person right now in college football that I want the ball in their hands at the end of the game — well, if there’s two people — it’s Gunner Stockton and it’s Ty Simpson,” Tebow said Friday afternoon on the SEC Network‘s The Paul Finebaum Show. “Look at what (Stockton’s) done in the fourth quarter and two-minute (situations). Some games he may not have had as good as a game, but dang, in the fourth quarter and the last five minutes and on the last drive, there’s an it-factor about him.

“I also think that Ty Simpson has a bit of that it-factor too. There are some other really good players around the country, but my favorite thing about individuals is what they do when their best is needed,” Tebow continued. “What do they do in the most crucial moments? And are you that guy then or in the first quarter? Are you the guy on 4th-and-10, like Ty Simpson in the Missouri game? They don’t win (that game) if he doesn’t make those elite passes. That’s what I see out of both of these guys that have really elevated their entire teams because of that (type of) play.”

This weekend, both Simpson and Stockton will undoubtedly be pressed into flashing their “it-factor” in a pair of pivotal Week 12 showdowns against Top 15-ranked SEC rivals with significant conference and College Football Playoff implications on the line. Simpson and No. 4 Alabama (8-1, 6-0 SEC) face visiting No. 11 Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2 SEC) in Tuscaloosa at 3:30 pm ET, while Stockton and No. 5 Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC) host No. 10 Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC) in Athens at 7:30 pm ET. Both games are on ABC.

Both Simpson and Stockton are among the late-season favorites to win this year’s Heisman Trophy, with Simpson currently receiving the third-best odds (+550) and Stockton with the seventh-best odds (+3000), according to BetMGM’s latest projections.