11/15: Straight from the Gators’ mouths…

By Adam Silverstein
November 15, 2010

Redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley, senior center Mike Pouncey and senior linebacker Brandon Hicks answered questions for the media on Monday about a variety of topics concerning the Florida Gators and their loss on Saturday to the South Carolina Gamecocks at home in Gainesville, FL. OGGOA has compiled some of the most important notes and quotes from the event this week.

BRANTLEY: I’M NOT TRANSFERRING

For those of you who hoped thought that Brantley would be transferring at the end of the season, think again. A rumor was started two weeks ago that Brantley would be sitting down after the season with his family and having a serious conversation about whether or not he would remain with Florida next year with the possibility of transferring having already been discussed. But will he?

“[Laughing] Absolutely [I will be here next year]. My dad called me last weekend, right when he landed back from Nashville. He asked me, he didn’t know what was going on. I had no idea either. I haven’t said anything to him about [transferring]. He’s never said anything to me about that. Those are just all rumors,” Brantley said Monday. “I’m a Gator through in and through out. I always will be a Gator. I love this place and have no regrets at all.”

Brantley did admit that his college career has not gone as expected thus far, but he insists that he has no regrets and would have come to play for the Gators even if he knew in advance how things were going to go this year. “I’ve learned so much these past few years, and then this year will definitley help me out later in life,” he said.

As for how next year will go, Brantley said he trusts the coaches and thinks they will do their best to tailor the offense to suit his skill set. “The option deal is not my kind of thing,” he admitted once again, while simultaneously repeating that he is perfectly fine with other players being brought in as substitutions to run those types of plays.

SENIORS LOOKING FORWARD TO THEIR DAY

“I bleed orange and blue,” Pouncey said to open up his media availability on Monday. “I never give up on this program, this team. Obviously I’ll be a pro player one day, but we got two or three more games left and that’s what our main focus is on. We obviously want to send our senior class out on the right note, especially for those guys who gave their lives to this program.”

He said the above while responding to a question about whether or not he was already looking ahead to his NFL future. Asked if he and the senior class think Senior Day next weekend holds less meaning or prestige, Pouncey shook his head no. “It will obviously be an emotional day next weekend. It’s tough for me, because I feel like I gave my all for this program,” he said. “It just sucks to end on a note like this, but I want to finish this season out strong with a couple wins. […] For guys who gave their life to this program, it doesn’t [hold any less meaning]. We obviously accomplished a lot while I was here – our four years. This weekend coming up is going to mean the world to me.”

QUOTES (After the break…)

Brantley on if the team has begun losing confidence: “Yeah, I think so. That’s natural. In the leadership role with myself and Mike and everybody is to try and keep that confidence up, boost everybody up.”

On what head coach Urban Meyer said to him in a personal moment on the sideline Saturday: “You’re going to have a lot of ups and downs in your life and this is just one of those down moments. The way you react from it really shows what your character is. Just keep moving forward.”

Pouncey on the loss of energy on offense: “We have energy-givers on this team, but it’s a collective effort. When you have one or two guys give energy on the field, it turns out like that. […] Obviously when you lose two first rounders on offense, a lot of great players who are playing in the NFL right now, you lose a lot of energy and emotion toward the game. I think that’s what was hurting this year, the whole year, all the energy those guys brought to the team last year.”

Pouncey on the worst part of all this losing: “The toughest part is losing at home because our fan base has been amazing my four-year career here. It just sucks sending them out like that, and I know it’s hard on us going out like that. I think that’s the toughest part – just losing at home, especially for all the fans who stuck behind us for the good and the bad.”

Pouncey on if he will cry Saturday: “I’m definitley going to cry, just because I feel I’ve gave everything to this program and it’s done so much for me.”

15 Comments

  1. npgator says:

    I appreciate where Brantley is coming from and he never complains about playing behind one of the worst offensive lines that I have ever seen UF field.

  2. GatorsFanLA says:

    That’s my teammate. That’s my quarterback.

  3. Marc says:

    npgator: I agree, but sometimes I wish he had some nuts.

  4. Scooterp says:

    I don’t fault Brantley. I fault the coaching staffs ineffective way of using him. They’ve watched him for three seasons during spring, summer and mop up duty and still have’nt figured out how to integrate hime into the offense. Sorry, I feel bad for the kid.

  5. g8ter27 says:

    I feel sorry for him too bc the coaches screwed him and the team this year…but he still sucks, hey i like the guy, I really do, I like Ron Zook too..just don’t want him coaching the Gators.

  6. obgator says:

    I honestly think we could just dust off the old playbook from 2006 when we had Leak as our main QB. We could work in Reed like a Tebow…or even let Burton in there…and surprise people by letting him throw.

    All the pieces are there to some extent. We won’t be able to replace Percy or Tebow, but why don’t we try? We got Rainey/Debose/Demps to fill that Percy gap, and Reed/Burton to play Tebow lite. JB just needs to do his best Leak impression while the Oline needs to nut up and block some people.

    We are arguably more talented in some areas while being weaker overall in terms of team defense. That 2006 defense was a great defense. But we still have JJenkings and ABlack to dominate the secondary, while OHunter and SFloyd can plug some holes. We just need to generate some pass rush … maybe move RoPo back on the line…while getting some leadership out of our senior lbs and have them channel Siler’s chain gang.

    The sad part is that we don’t seem like we’re trying the obvious. I know football at the college level is pretty complicated in terms of schemes and such, but we really need to go back to the basics. One basic rule we fail to observe is attacking the defense. We are too predictable when the casual fan can correctly predict 90% of the plays.

  7. Mr2Bits says:

    obgator : “We are too predictable when the casual fan can correctly predict 90% of the plays.” Add to that as pointed out by the Vandy commentators, if our O-line is down in a 3 point stance, we are running the ball, if they are in the up stance, we are passing the ball. These obvious formations surely don’t help our predictability.

  8. npgator says:

    One thing that I think that has been overlooked when dishing out criticism this year is that lack of leadership from the players. Think about it – we went from haiving perhaps the greatest leader in college football history with Tebow and not to mention Spikes – to what seems like nothing. Even Tom Brady was rallying his team the other night and you know without exception who the Patriot’s leader is but who are the Gator team leaders this year.

  9. cline2574 says:

    Anyone think coach Azzani would be a candidate for OC?

  10. Alex says:

    @2 Bits – unfortunately for Andre Ware, the most annoying commentary guy in the college game, when he said that he was actually wrong on the 2 out of the next 3 plays. While there may be something to be said about the o-line stances versus play calling, it certainly wasn’t illustrated there.

  11. Aligator says:

    this is basically the same line we had last year. The talent this year can not cover up addozzio’s inability to do two jobs.

  12. Jesse C says:

    We obviously have a multitude of potential talent on this team… from the praise given by the coaches during Spring and the rankings of the past few recruiting classes. Yet, we have often looked completely lost on the field. I do not blame the players for our ineptitude on both sides of the ball. It is the coaching staff who is solely responsible. A coaching staff that does have a lot of new members but one that is one of the highest paid in the nation… individually and collectively. So, although our expectations are always high, these guys are not earning their paychecks this year.

  13. Mr2Bits says:

    @Alex : As I recall, he pointed it out, ran true for the next 3 plays and was wrong on one. None-the-less, he had something going.

  14. depressedgator says:

    that was the worst playcalling ive ever seen. not one run around the end, more and more lame dives up the middle with skinny little backs that not only get arm tackled but get finger tackled. get a big durable back for cripes sake r u kidding me that a school like uf hasnt had a decent tailback since earnest graham/taylor while other places have 2 or 3 at a time? moodys a joke and they dont let gillislee play 4 some reason. jbs having a really bad night but u keep calling his #? johnnys a great kid but just not a good fit here. meyer needs to put reed in running the option and pitching to burton or some other quick back around the end who doesnt let a foot sprain keep him out the majority of the season. um says he panicked in the 1st 1/2 down 8 points, i cant believe hed even admit to something that pitiful and if its true and not just a cover then hes pretty much washed up unfotunately. addazio must go and if um cant pull the trigger and get some good coaches to call the plays for him and let him focus on recuiting and motivation then foley needs to do it 4 him or he can take a walk in lake alice with the rest of em, anything would b better than watching this pitiful fiasco of lousy play calling and poor management of better than average talent week after week. w/out tim here to cover up the ineptitude were going to need some real coaching skill to get back to elite status. go gators, run the dang option around the end till they stop it, gillislee up the middle INFREQUENTLY to keep it honest and c how u like it. its not rocket science…what in the heck are the coaches doing all week? all they talk about after the losses is whats missing with the players, not once ever turning a critical eye on themselves, the players and fans deserve better…

  15. HardToKillGtr says:

    I really think the coaches have lost the offense. Urb’s too smart not to know it.

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