Thanks to injuries and absences throughout the spring, we still don’t know what Florida’s offense will look like in the fall.
But there was a pretty solid hint standing on the field in white boat shoes during the Orange and Blue Debut on Saturday.
Former Florida and current Montreal Alouettes quarterback Chris Leak came back to Gainesville to support and advise new starter John Brantley, a move that makes perfect sense as Brantley should be running the same kind of scheme Leak did his senior season.
“Coach (Urban) Meyer was telling me it is going to be very similar to 2006,” Leak said. “That’s something that obviously I have a lot of experience with. … Any two cents I can put in to help the team win a game, I’m willing to do it.”
During his time as the starter, Brantley will always have to deal with Tim Tebow’s shadow, but trying to follow Leak’s example is much more realistic.
Brantley knows. That’s why he turned to Leak for tips.
The two talked on the phone frequently during the spring, with Leak giving help about footwork, decision-making and how to handle pressure.
“He’s always been a mentor to me,” Brantley said. “I watched him play through his college years when I was growing up, and I’m just happy he’s helping me out now. I’ve been waiting for it.”
In 2006, Leak worked in an offense that blended Meyer’s spread option and a more traditional scheme, and Brantley will likely do the same this season.
And Leak had Tebow coming in to run the ball, just as Trey Burton and Jordan Reed are expected to in the fall.
That mix is just fine with Brantley and Leak.
“We talk about that,” Brantley said. “Me and him aren’t the best runners. We both agree with that. If we have to have someone else come in and run the ball for us, we don’t mind at all.”
The difference is, Brantley probably won’t have to worry about hearing boos from the crowd when he subs back in for Burton or Reed.
Beyond schematic similarities, Brantley can also learn from Leak’s poise and leadership.
Meyer has repeatedly said the biggest task on Brantley’s plate is learning how to take charge, and he’s much more like Leak than Tebow in this regard.
Odds are, you’ll never hear Brantley pull a huddle together and yell, “Big nuts! Big nuts! Right here! We will not be stopped, I will not be stopped, right now!” like Tebow did during a game in high school.
And while the Brantley era might mean a dropoff in stiff-arms and fist-pumps, it should also bring back tight spirals and picture-perfect deep balls of Leak’s day.
Brantley made that clear on his first snap, when he launched a 47-yard pass down the sideline to Deonte Thompson. Leak opened his first spring game in 2004 in the same fashion, as his first toss went for 73 yards to Dallas Baker.
It’s unfair to expect Brantley to be the next Tebow or Leak, but if he can take the lessons he’s learned from both and apply them in the next two seasons, it’s not a stretch to imagine his name alongside theirs as championship quarterbacks.
