With an offense installed by first-year offensive coordinator Charlie Weis that’s more amenable to his pro-style skill set, John Brantley had become a more-than-serviceable quarterback for the Florida Gators this season following an abysmal 2010 campaign.
Whether he’ll be able to continue that upward trend, however, very much remains to be seen.
Brantley suffered what head coach Will Muschamp would only describe as a lower-leg injury at the end of the first half of UF’s 38-10 loss to No. 3 Alabama. The specific nature and severity of the injury aren’t known, although the initial whispers are that it’s an issue with the knee and it could very well be of the season-ending variety.
Muschamp said after the game that he hasn’t “talked to the doctor yet” and that Brantley will be evaluated Sunday.
“You lose John and it took a little bit of the wind out of sails there in the second half,” Muschamp said. “You’ve got to go to the next guy.”
The next guy was true freshman Jeff Driskel, who completed 2-of-6 passes for 14 yards in the second half of the loss; Brantley had been gone 11 of 16 for 190 yards and the Gators’ lone touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. If Brantley is to be out for an extended period of time, or even the remainder of the season, Driskel will be given the opportunity for some on-the-job training that will include games against No. 1 LSU, defending national champions Auburn and Georgia -- in the next three weeks.
Driskel’s teammates expressed confidence in the first-year player, although, honestly, do they really have any other choice but to sing the first-year player’s praises?
“We have faith in Driskel; it’s not like he went in and everybody put their heads down, no. It’s not like that,” defensive lineman Sharrif Floyd said. “We’ve seen Driskel, we know what Driskel can do. We’re on his side and he’s on ours and we’re going to respect him when he’s in the game.”