Big ‘Gator Shoes’ to Fill
As the 40,000 some-odd students plan to head back to classes in Gainesville this fall, one young man entering his 4th year of college probably has more butterflies in his stomach than the collective legion of aspiring sorority girls lined up on Norman Field come bid day. For most students, by the 4th year of college, they’ve established at least somewhat of a routine, whether it be waking up at noon on the basement couch of a can & bottle-littered fraternity house or perhaps swinging by a local coffee house to get a fresh cup of joe before heading over to your morning lab. Whatever the case, by year 4, it’s not likely to expect a large scale shift in normalcy. For John Brantley, however, life is about to change, not in a winter to spring type shift, more of a universe-shaping big bang lifestyle realignment.As a redshirt junior (read: 3rd year of eligibility, 4th actual year for more casual fans), Brantley inherits arguably the most high profile quarterback job college football has ever seen. Sure there was Tee Martin taking over for Peyton Manning in 1998, who won a National Championship for the Volunteers by the way, but few quarterbacks have ever been so beloved by the local community or such the infatuation of mainstream media as the recently NFL-bound Tim Tebow. Can you name another 25th overall draft pick to set a draft record for jersey sales or pace the entire NFL in jersey sales the month after draft day? Not since Johnny Moxon took over for an injured Lance Harbor for the West Canaan Coyotes has one player been thrust into a more direct spotlight from a backup role.In limited time, Brantley has performed well for the Gators, though his Saturdays will certainly be a little more pressure filled than the mostly mop-up duty he’s worked in recent years. Still, the 6’3” gunslinger out of Ocala/Trinity Catholic has made good on his top 3 recruit billing thus far, completing 71.1 of his passes in over the last 2 years on his way to 10 touchdowns and just one interception. After all, it won’t be the first time Brantley’s name has replaced Tebow’s on a list, as Brantley edged out Tebow’s shared high school state record for TD passes by the narrow margin of 99 to 98.