Perhaps more so than any other player on Florida’s roster, John Brantley entered the spring practice season in need of a fresh start.
The quarterback struggled throughout a disappointing junior season, throwing more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (nine) and seemingly never finding his comfort zone in Urban Meyer’s spread-option offense.
The Gators have only had one spring practice under offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and the new coaching staff, but there already appears to be a new sense of optimism surrounding Brantley as Florida’s signal-caller.
“I’m not saying that I know everything right now, but I’m getting more comfortable with it,” Brantley said. “We’re a long way from where we want to be, but it was a good start yesterday.”
Heading into the offseason, Brantley’s future at Florida appeared to be up in the air, as he said he would reevaluate his future with the Gators and rumors circulated about him transferring. But he never left, he said Thursday, and he is hoping to leave his poor performance and lack of confidence behind him.
“That’s the past. I’ve moved on,” Brantley said. “That’s what’s good about this new coaching staff. You start anew, start from scratch and build from there.”
Weis and head coach Will Muschamp said they expect Brantley to simply manage the game as a traditional drop-back passer throwing out of a pro-style offense, something that is better suited to his abilities.
Brantley’s experience won’t guarantee him a starting spot, and the three quarterbacks on the Gators’ spring depth chart — Brantley, Tyler Murphy and Jeff Driskel — are learning the new system at an even pace.
“We’re all at the same level, so we’re all helping each other,” Brantley said. “There’s a lot of confusing things going on right now with this offense just because it’s all new to us, but we’re just going to try to help each other and become the leaders.”
But Brantley has quickly taken to his new position coach, speaking highly of his knowledge, reputation and résumé — particularly in developing quarterbacks like Brady Quinn and Tom Brady.
“Coach Weis is a genius with the offense, and he’s going to do great things here,” Brantley said. “You can put a lot of trust in his hands because he knows what he’s doing. He’s got the track record to show it.”
And Brantley’s teammates are picking up on his excitement for a fresh start in 2011.
“You really can’t tell right now from this first practice, but I feel like Brantley, he’s loving this offense,” sophomore receiver Andre Debose said. “He’s loving every second of it.”
