If anyone knows what Georgia quarterback Justin Fields is going through right now, it’s Tim Tebow.

Fields, a former star recruit, has played sparingly as a freshman this season, mostly in garbage-time situations or certain packages behind starter Jake Fromm. Tebow went through the same thing in 2006 at Florida when he was a short-yardage specialist in place of Chris Leak.

That’s why Tebow, now an analyst for the SEC Network, was asked to liken the Bulldogs’ current quarterback situation to the one he experienced during his freshman season. While speaking with reporters Friday ahead of Saturday’s Georgia-Florida game, the former Gator gave his best guess as to how Georgia coach Kirby Smart is handling the situation and what Fields can do to earn more snaps.

“It’s hard (to say) a little bit, to a certain extent, because I don’t know what’s said to them as far as playing time, reps,” Tebow said. “It was pretty clear with me and Chris, and that really helped. I think Coach (Urban) Meyer did a good job of, you knew, ‘Hey, we’re in this third-down situation, so we’re going to this. If it’s red zone, we’re going to this.’ Then there was a few more based on how the game was going that you would kind of just have to be ready for and figure out. It’s been interesting to see how he’s being used. It’s probably, to a certain extent, a little bit hard for him to get going. But I think if he’s going to be effective, he’s going to have to threaten a defense, especially Florida’s because Florida is so aggressive defensively. For him to be able to have running room, he’s got to threaten them. He’s got to show that he can make those throws on the field. And I think he can, but you’ve got to tell a defense that you can, too. And he hasn’t done that. So I think for the next effort, Georgia, is that they let him throw it once or twice.”

Fields has thrown just 25 passes this season but has looked good as both a passer and a runner in limited action. Though a bit of a quarterback controversy brewed during fall practice simply based on Fields’ recruiting rankings, the debate has roared to life in the wake of Georgia’s 36-16 loss at LSU, in which Fields rushed once and didn’t attempt a pass despite Fromm’s struggles.

Leak graduated from Florida after 2006, so Tebow naturally stepped into the starting role. The Bulldogs don’t have the luxury — Fromm is just a sophomore, so Smart will eventually have to make a decision about which quarterback will lead his team in the coming years.