The noise Florida quarterback John Brantley could face if he starts on Saturday night at No. 4 Louisiana State is nothing compared to the noise coming from his cell phone this week.
LSU fans obtained the cell phone numbers for Brantley, head coach Urban Meyer and wide receiver Riley Cooper, and they have been calling without restraint.
“I just ignore it,” Brantley said. “They haven’t been bad. It’s just a little annoying.”
The Tigers fans did something similar before the Gators’ 2007 trip to Baton Rouge when they got quarterback Tim Tebow’s phone number and called it all week. Tebow responded by pretending to dial a phone on his hand in front of the LSU student section after throwing a first-quarter touchdown to Kestahn Moore.
All distractions aside, Brantley has tried to go about his preparation for the game.
“It’s been a good week for me to be able to go out and run with the first team,” Brantley said. “It’s quality reps that I’m getting out there, and I’m just trying to learn.”
The preparations are far from normal. Brantley and the Florida coaches are trying to treat it just like a normal situation, but Tebow’s situation is hard to ignore.
Brantley said he prepares weekly as if he was starting the game, and it’s no more appropriate than this week. He sits in on every meeting that Tebow does during a normal week of planning for the game, so that hasn’t been different.
“We’re preparing like we would any other week, whether I’m starting or Tim’s starting,” Brantley said. “Nothing has changed much. We’re just preparing to go into a hostile environment and play.”
His preparations this week come with uncertainty. Usually he prepares for his repetitions that are expected to come in the fourth quarter, but this week it’s in expectation that he will get the first snap of the game Saturday.
He has been told nothing in regards to Tebow’s status but expects to know before game day. Brantley’s preference, like any quarterback’s would be, is to know as soon as possible in order to get his head right.
“It’s a little different, preparation-wise,” Brantley said. “The way I’m watching film hasn’t really changed, just my mindset a little bit. It’s just knowing that I might have to go into Baton Rouge and win a game.”
A year ago at this time, the feeling might be a little different. The coaches and players may have been more panicked sending a quarterback for his first start on the road.
But Brantley’s maturation over the past year has the coaches and players relaxed. They would obviously prefer to have Tebow on the field, but they still remain confident with the redshirt sophomore under center.
“I think I am ready,” Brantley said. “A year ago, I don’t know if I could have said that. This year, I’m a lot more ready.”
Brantley’s preparation is also benefited by the amount of playmakers he has around him. He has a running game that is among the best in the country right now benefiting him on the road in a hostile environment.
Between Chris Rainey, Jeff Demps and Emmanuel Moody, it’s likely the Florida coaches would try to start the game off by taking the pressure off the young quarterback.
“We’ve got a bunch of playmakers,” Brantley said. “This is Florida. We have playmakers everywhere. I don’t have to go in there thinking I have to do everything and make every play. I can rely on my playmakers to make great plays for me.”
And that’s the formula the Florida coaches and players hope to ride to victory.