Greg McElroy and Tim Tebow are returning to their glory days.
The two former Jets quarterbacks were giants of the college game — McElroy led Alabama to the national title in 2010, while Tebow quarterbacked Florida to championships in 2007 and 2009 — who did not enjoy much success in the NFL. Now they are analysts on ESPN’s fledgling SEC Network, which debuted Thursday.
“Growing up, I was a huge NFL fan, I didn’t have an allegiance to any college team,” McElroy said. “Once I got to the NFL it’s funny how much you grow to miss college. You miss that pageantry, the tradition, the students section, all those things. That’s when I realized I was truly passionate about it. My true passion is with college athletics.
“I couldn’t be happier with the decision I made. The NFL was a bucket- list activity. I wanted to play, give it my best shot, I got a couple of years, I probably could have kept going for a couple of more years, but I knew it was the right time to step down.”
McElroy, now 26, was drafted by the Jets in the seventh round of the 2011 draft, and played in two games (including one start) during the Jets’ 2012 quarterback debacle that included Tebow and Mark Sanchez. McElroy spent last season on the Bengals practice squad and was planning on starting training camp this month, instead of launching a new career.
“Once it was agreed in principle with SEC Network, I called the Bengals and let them know it was the end of the road,” McElroy said of his decision to retire in March.
“But at that moment I was preparing to come back and play in the NFL. I was in shape and ready to go. Once we came to terms, I knew it was something to do and it was a no-brainer.”
McElroy’s decision was not made with the same fanfare as Tebow’s. The divisive lefty, who turned 27 Thursday, still gets mentioned for potential quarterback openings, and is not giving up on his NFL dream even while working on his broadcasting craft.
“The thing is, I would do this anyway at home because I love it,” Tebow told the AP recently. “I would be watching every football game anyways and talking to the TV set. It’s my nature. It’s what my family and I have done since I was 6 years old.”
The new channel begins with the college football season two weeks away, offering a 24-hour network devoted to dissecting the nation’s premiere conference. Veteran play-by-play man Brent Musburger will call the game of the week on the network, alongside Jesse Palmer.
The network has secured deals with top providers: Time Warner, Direct TV, Comcast, Dish Network and others, while Cablevision and Verizon Fios remain the major holdouts.
“I’ve been really busy trying to get studied up, trying to watch the film and all those things – just trying to draw some evaluations along the way,” McElroy said.
“Being a couple of years removed from college football, I had to go back and learn the teams inside and out. It’s been a lot of fun, a lot of traveling, rehearsals and getting it ready to go so when we unveil the SEC Network it’s going to be a well-oiled machine.”