When John Brantley entered the locker room prematurely, Florida’s underlying fears bubbled to the surface.
The adversity came on a Saturday night in front of a national TV audience. It was the end of the first half, and Brantley had just absorbed a body blow, a KO.
The Saturday, of course, was two weeks ago — a 48-10 victory at Kentucky. The injury Brantley sustained did minimal damage — a hard hit to the midsection. He was only held out for much of the rest of the game as a precaution. The opponent was, after all, Kentucky. Florida was already up by three touchdowns.
Still, that moment raised questions. What would happen if Brantley was knocked out for good? Was his backup, freshman Jeff Driskel, prepared to face Alabama in the Southeastern Conference’s trial by fire?
“I’ve got all the confidence in the world in Jeff,” coach Will Muschamp said after the Kentucky game. “All the confidence in the world.”
Muschamp showed that confidence for 30 minutes Saturday, as Driskel took all of Florida’s snaps in the second half. For the second week in a row, Brantley exited a game with an injury. This time, the injury appears more serious.
Dropping back on a third-and-20 with 45 seconds left in the half, Brantley was hit from the blind side by Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw. Brantley’s right leg bent back as he was slammed to the ground, and the quarterback was noticeably in pain as soon as he hit the grass.
The extent of the injury was not known Saturday night — Muschamp only let on it was to Brantley’s “lower leg” — but reports have surfaced that he suffered a high ankle sprain.
Driskel entered the stage facing a 24-10 deficit, and his appearance brought a mix of anxiety and excitement.
As a senior at Oviedo Hagerty High, Driskel was the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the nation, according to Rivals.com. At the same time, he is still a freshman — prodigy or not — and he was staring down the No. 3 defense in the nation.
In those 30 minutes at Florida Field, Driskel looked far from the hyped quarterback of the future. In those 30 minutes, Florida’s offense managed just 46 yards and two first downs.
Driskel threw for 14 yards on six pass attempts. He looked uncomfortable in the pocket, scrambling unsuccessfully on a pair of third-and-longs and taking one sack. He fumbled a snap.
Florida’s offensive ineptitude put too much weight on its renewed defense, which stopped Alabama on three straight drives after halftime. Staying on the field for 18:40 in the second half, though, the defense eventually wore out, not that players blamed the new quarterback.
“We have faith in Driskel; it’s not like he went in and everybody put their heads down,” defensive end Sharrif Floyd said.
“No, it’s not like that. We’ve seen Driskel. We know what Driskel can do.”
That was the theme among players after Florida’s 38-10 loss: confidence in Driskel.
This week, Florida faces LSU — the No. 9 defense in the nation. If Driskel has to start, the Gators are cool with that.
“We tell him all the time, ‘We trust you, man, so just go out there and be you,’” wide receiver Andre Debose said. “Driskel’s a great player.”
Contact Tyler Jett at tjett@alligator.org.
Quarterback John Brantley left Saturday’s game late in the second quarter with a reported ankle sprain and did not return. Freshman Jeff Driskel replaced him and played the second half.
