The new face of Florida football is mustachioed.
Redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley has fielded preseason questions from reporters ranging from his new favorite targets to the new growth above his upper lip.
“He needs to shave it,” quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler said. “He will. Don’t worry.”
Brantley disagrees.
“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Brantley said.
While the quarterback and his coach continue to grapple with the presentation of the program’s new face, there is one thing everyone can get excited about: Brantley’s ability to throw the ball from the pocket.
His predecessor spent much of his time bowling over linebackers and stiff arming safeties, but his teammates know that won’t be Brantley’s game. And that’s just fine with them.
“Brantley looks great throwing the ball,” running back Emmanuel Moody said. We feel he’s a pure passer, and he’s going to do great this year,”
Tim Tebow ran the ball 217 times a season ago and locked into departed pass-catching options Aaron Hernandez and Riley Cooper, who combined to account for 55 percent of the team’s receiving yardage.
Brantley is expected to carry the ball far less often and be more indiscriminate with who is on the receiving end of his passes.
“I have a really good chemistry with all of them, really,” Brantley said. “I’ve had a chance to throw to all of them quite a bit. They all can be playmakers in my eyes. They’re all fast and they all can catch.”
Brantley spent three seasons developing a rhythm with many of the receivers who will be counted on to step up and produce for the first time this season.
The offense is expected to be more pass heavy than it has been in seasons past, but the only receiver or tight end on the roster with more than 14 career receptions is Deonte Thompson. Brantley will be counted on to turn the collective potential of the wide receivers into collective production.
Loeffler has been impressed with his first-year starter’s leadership, which he said started when Tebow walked off the field for the last time after the Sugar Bowl.
“It’s been an everyday process for him; it doesn’t happen over night,” Loeffler said. “You got to first learn to lead by example, and then you find the right time to open your mouth and find the right time to keep your mouth closed, but it all starts with leading by example. I think he’s done a helluva job with that.”
If leading the team through training camp was Brantley’s first task as the starting quarterback, leading the team through a rigorous Southeastern Conference schedule will be his next.
And that’s something he’s been preparing for since he signed his letter of intent in 2007.
“I’m not sure if I was ready or not,” Brantley said of starting right away. “I would say I wasn’t ready. I’m ready now.”
