A young, brash kid from a town with just over 2,000 people Caleb Brantley always knew he wanted to be a Florida Gator. Brantley was the second player to commit to Florida in the 2013 recruiting cycle, he would later decommit briefly before renewing the pledge. Even as he committed to the school he dreamed of playing for, Brantley never dreamed he would still be wearing the Orange and Blue in 2016.
Brantley came to Florida with a three-year plan, and given his talent, not many people would have corrected him at the time. As Brantley enters his redshirt junior season with Florida, he can now see that he wasn’t ready mentally to make the transition to college.
“As a young guy I showed up to workouts like, I’m tired, I don’t want to do this,” Brantley said at Florida’s media day.
A redshirt his freshman year did more to hurt his confidence than it did to help him grow but that was part of the path he had to take. It’s taken some time but Caleb Brantley’s story is only just beginning.
“Now that I’m an older guy I embrace it,” Brantley said of all the off the field work he didn’t want to commit to early on in his career with Florida. “Every time we have a workout I view it as a chance to get better, a chance to go out and get stronger, faster and quicker so I can show up on the field.”
Brantley tallies 21 tackles, four for a loss, as a redshirt freshman in 2014. He saw an increased role in 2015, finishing with 29 tackles and 6.5 for a loss, playing in a role where he often created for others.
“The first couple games last year I struggled. I wasn’t getting any tackles, no stats,” Brantley said. “I had to learn how to play the game, how to set stuff up and just play my position. The plays will come to me.”
Brantley has always had the physical tools. ESPN ranked him the 42nd best player in the 2013 recruiting class. For the talented defensive lineman ability has never been the question. It’s been desire, attitude, commitment and maturity that have held him back. Something about coming back to Florida for his redshirt junior season flipped a switch. Brantley watched film from every single opponent on Florida’s schedule before he reported to fall camp. That’s hours upon hours of sitting in front of an IPad or in a meeting room pouring over coaches film. The last three years have taught him that talent alone does not suffice, that every player in the locker room has a role and each needs to execute his role if the team goals are to be met.
“I’ve learned that there’s more to a successful football team than just the guys that hit the field. You have guys on scout team in practice that have to work just as hard to get the guys who are playing ready to play,” he said. “You have guys on the sideline who have to have high character and a positive vibe. I learned that there’s different parts to the machine.”
The change has been visible to his head coach.
“I’ve been proud of the way he’s stepped up,” Jim McElwain said Monday. “He did a great job this summer. He’s going to be a force to block.”
Brantley credits his relationship with defensive line coach Chris Rumph for helping his open up and dedicate himself more to football.
“I was second string behind Taven Bryan and Joey Ivie,” Brantley remembered when Rumph was first hired. “When Coach Rumph came in he made me believe in myself more than anybody ever did. He saw it before I saw it. He was like, ‘do you know what you can be?’ I never knew what he meant. Now I know. He always believed that I could be the player I’m going to be.”
Brantley is now a leader. He’s still brash and loud. He can be a clown and make his teammates laugh but he knows that they’re looking to him to be more. Caleb Brantley wants to follow in the footsteps of the recent first round defensive linemen from Florida and he’s finally opened himself to putting in the work off the field that will facilitate that. If Brantley lives up to expectations in 2016 this will be his last season in Gainesville. He’s that good. That much of a game changer. We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg the last three seasons.
“I still don’t think y’all got to see Caleb Brantley yet,” he said, flashing a grin. “You will.”