By Jon Mahoney, Special to SI.com, RISE
Trinity Catholic (Ocala, Fla.) senior quarterback John Brantley de-committed from Texas yesterday for Florida. The 6-foot-3, 198-pounder is rated the nation's No. 2 quarterback and No. 16 overall recruit in the Class of 2007 by RISE. He was named Gatorade 2006-07 National Football Player of the Year this season.
Brantley grew up being a Florida fan and he certainly has some close ties to the Gators. His father, John III, was a quarterback at Florida from 1975-79, while his uncle, Scot, played linebacker for the Gators from 1976-79. Brantley's high school coach, Kerwin Bell, is a former star signal-caller for the Gators and set then-SEC records for passing yards (7,585) and touchdown passes (56).
Brantley's love for the Gators and closeness with his family led him to de-commit from Texas, where he had originally pledged last April.
"My heart has always been at Florida because I've been a Gator fan my entire life," Brantley told the Ocala Star-Banner. "When I committed to Texas I was, I guess you could say, in the moment, and I didn't really care how far it was from home. Now that it's getting close to time [to go to Texas], that distance factor is really setting in."
Brantley passed for 2,766 yards and 41 touchdowns this year while leading Trinity Catholic to a Class 2B state runner-up finish. As a junior, he guided the Celtics to the Class 2B state crown.
Brantley went 27-1 as a starter at Trinity Catholic and set the state record for career touchdown passes with 99, breaking the previous mark of 98 set by current Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and current Florida State quarterback Xavier Lee. Brantley also completed 61.5 percent of his passes during his career for 6,802 yards.
