Urban Meyer doesn’t understand why Tim Tebow is not in the NFL

It’s been nearly a year since Tim Tebow was last seen in an NFL uniform.

That’s not particularly newsworthy, given Tebow’s career 47.9 percent completion rate in the NFL.

But at least one person is surprised that Tebow is not playing football at the highest level: his former coach at Florida, Urban Meyer.

“I still don’t get that part of it,” Meyer, who is now the Ohio State coach, told reporters Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days. “He’s the second-most efficient passer ever to play college football.”

Tebow completed 66.4 percent of his passes with the Gators and had 88 touchdown passes against 16 interceptions.

The Denver Broncos picked Tebow in the first round in 2010, and the following year he went 7-4 as a starter in the regular season, collecting six comeback victories. Denver won the AFC West and beat the Steelers in the playoffs.

But Tebow’s numbers were not the greatest. He completed 46.5 percent of his passes, had 12 touchdowns against six interceptions and gained just 6.4 yards per attempt. Tebow was traded to the Jets after the 2011 season and lined up mostly as a fullback in New York.

Tebow was with the Patriots in training camp last year but was cut before the regular season started.

“He had really good personnel around him (at Florida) and we utilized his skill very well,” Meyer told reporters. “I think in a traditional setting, it is difficult, but there’s a lot of non-traditional offenses now in the NFL.”

Tebow’s next gig likely will be the one that’s planned: on the SEC Network.

This story was originally published July 29, 2014 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Urban Meyer doesn’t understand why Tim Tebow is not in the NFL."