John Brantley was asked this preseason if he had ever been interviewed without hearing the name “Tebow.”
He laughed, saying he didn’t mind talking about him, about the pressures of replacing a two-time national champion. Instead, Brantley shifted the conversation to the benefits of watching from the sidelines.
“I’ve [gotten] to learn from one of the best quarterbacks that will ever play,” he said.
Brantley learned how to handle himself, how everyone on the field looks at the quarterback to lead, how everyone off the field looks at the quarterback to slip up.
But some things can’t be learned from watching Tim Tebow. Tebow knows how to be a legend, not how to replace one.
The Gators have let fans know this is “Johnny B’s” team. Receivers said they’ve never played with a more accurate passer. Meyer said he’s enjoyed watching the junior become a leader. And, after three years of riding shotgun with Tebow, Brantley feels confident.
“I can’t wait for Saturday to come,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind [throwing the ball deep early] just to get the nerves out. With the adrenaline pumping, I might be able to throw it through the stadium.”
Brantley has talked with plenty of former Gators quarterbacks in preparation for this season: Chris Leak, Shane Matthews, high school coach Kerwin Bell and his own father, John Brantley III.
None of them can truly warn Brantley of the challenges he faces this season, however. Few people know how to replace a player widely considered the best in school history.
But some do. And those players know first-hand how to succeed when fans are still wearing your predecessor’s jersey.
Just Start the Car and Steer
When Danny Kanell became FSU’s starting quarterback in 1994, he felt a new standard had been set. The year prior, Charlie Ward led the Seminoles to their first national championship and became the first player in school history to win the Heisman.
If FSU did not win another national championship, Kanell thought, the whole season would be a letdown.
During a preseason practice, offensive coordinator Mark Richt pulled him aside.
“You’ve been given the keys to the Bentley,” Richt told him. “You have so much talent around you. All you have to do is learn to use those guys. They want to keep the pressure off of you.”
The Seminoles’ defense featured future NFL Pro Bowl selections Derrick Brooks and Peter Boulware, and members of the unit told Kanell they had his back, regardless of how he played.
Kanell felt his teammates rallied around him more than Ward because they knew how long a shadow Ward cast after 1993. The sentiment did not extend to people outside the program, though.
“In games when I threw a couple of picks, it seemed like everybody wanted me out,” Kanell said. “I kept hearing that FSU needed the next Charlie Ward and that I wasn’t going to be good enough. That’s tough.”
Kanell was booed off the field in November of that year when FSU fell behind 24-3 at halftime against UF. But he passed for 349 yards in the second half, leading the Seminoles to what was, at the time, the greatest fourth-quarter comeback in NCAA history. The “Choke at Doak” ended in a 31-31 tie — one of the most painful results in UF history.
Take Doubts Personally
Flipping through a magazine in the spring of 1998, Tee Martin learned Tennessee was going to win just six games that fall, his first season as the team’s starter.
The Volunteers' offense was losing No. 1 overall draft pick Peyton Manning, the school-record holder in career passing yards and touchdowns.
Martin refused to forget that preseason prediction. Not that coach Phillip Fulmer would let him.
Tennessee practiced in plain, white helmets in the spring, and Fulmer told his players they would have to earn the signature T’s typically found on the sides of their heads. Six-win teams deserved to look ugly.
Seeing the disrespect Martin received following Manning’s departure, the team embodied the new quarterback’s pissed-off attitude.
“People didn’t know how much talent we had,” Martin said. “We knew we could be just as good without Peyton, and we played with a chip on our shoulder.”
With Martin under center, Tennessee finished the regular season undefeated. Still, Martin told himself that nobody believed the Volunteers could win the national title, that he would never really be respected.
In the Fiesta Bowl, Martin led Tennessee to a 23-16 win over FSU, throwing a pair of touchdowns to cap a 13-0 season, a feat Manning never accomplished.
“Every week we had something to prove,” he said. “And when we won the championship, we felt like we finally proved to the world how good we were.”
Don’t Stress, Have Fun
The lasting image of Doug Flutie’s career at Boston College is a 48-yard Hail Mary to stun Miami during Thanksgiving weekend in 1984. But Shawn Halloran, Flutie’s backup, remembers a different aspect.
“He made everyone in the program compete,” Halloran said. “Everything was a game. We were always having competitions. In the weight room, while watching film, it didn’t matter. We had fun.”
Halloran knew replacing Flutie was impossible. But Halloran and the rest of the team honored their former quarterback by continuing old competitions.
During warm-ups, Halloran played the “Dart Drill” with backups just like Flutie had with him. Before his backup threw, Halloran pointed to a body part and told the quarterback to hit it.
Hit the right spot, you get a point.
Despite following the most famous player in school history, Halloran never felt pressure. Before college, he used to feel nervous in the minutes before kickoff. But he didn’t stress with the Eagles.
He was too busy playing games.
“There was a lot on my plate because I was coming in after Doug,” he said. “But those things were fun. Playing in the Kickoff Classic on TV the year after he left? We wouldn’t have done that if it weren’t for Doug.”
Be Yourself
Fun or not, Boston College posted a 4-8 record in 1985. Halloran said the team still had not adjusted to life after Flutie. The new quarterback was a pocket passer, but the Eagles continued to run plays requiring him to scramble.
Kanell was also charged with replacing an unconventional quarterback. After watching Ward break defenses with exciting runs and deep passes the year before, Kanell tried to score touchdowns on every play in the 1994 season opener.
Ward, who was on the sidelines for the game, pulled Kanell aside and told him to make short passes. Fans remember big plays, Ward said, but those come easy if you complete simple throws first.
Martin faced the opposite challenge. But he said being a dual-threat quarterback, as opposed to a poor man’s Peyton Manning, was the key to his success. Teams did not know how to prepare for a scrambling Tennessee quarterback.
In all cases, teams were most successful when adjusting plays to fit their new passers. And Florida is making an effort to do the same.
Meyer said the offense will look similar to the 2006 version led by Leak. And the team has practiced under-center formations for more than a year to prepare for Brantley’s ascension.
And Brantley has prepared by not being Tim Tebow, no matter how much he hears about him.
“What he’s done here in the last year has been exactly what we need to have happen,” Meyer said. “He’s grown up, he’s the leader of this team and he’s Johnny Brantley. That’s good enough for us.”
