Florida Gators' future QB shines in rare appearance

GAINESVILLE — There is still plenty to accomplish before the Tim Tebow era ends at Florida, but fans got a glimpse of the future Saturday.

John Brantley replaced Tebow midway through the third quarter and threw a touchdown on all three of his drives in Florida's 62-3 rout of Florida International.

The redshirt sophomore completed 9 of 13 passes for 146 yards in his fifth appearance of the season, all of which have come with Florida up big. Brantley's attempts, yards and touchdowns set career highs, and he added 23 yards on three carries.

"It's not just throwing the ball," coach Urban Meyer said. "That's about one-third, one-fourth of playing quarterback. He ran the ball well. He dropped his pads a couple times, and most important, he managed the team well."

Each touchdown went to a different up-and-coming receiver.

There was a 20-yarder to redshirt freshman Omarius Hines, who dragged a defender into the end zone. Next came a 16-yarder to redshirt junior Justin Williams in the front right corner of the end zone. And on one of his finest throws of the day, Brantley hit redshirt freshman Frankie Hammond in stride down the right sideline for an over-the-shoulder 31-yarder on fourth and 11.

"They can only get better from here on out," Brantley said of the receivers.

Meyer talked all preseason about getting Brantley meaningful reps, repeatedly saying he had "earned the right to play." Instead, he will finish with fewer appearances than last year even if he plays in the remaining three games.

He came close to starting at LSU on Oct. 10 because of Tebow's concussion, but Brantley said he's fine with how this year has gone down.

"To sit behind one of the greatest players in college football is a blessing to me," Brantley said.

For Tebow, Saturday was one of his easier days, but he also got a chance to see what the future holds for the program that means so much to him.

"There's going to be a lot of talented dudes out there on the field in the future," Tebow said.

"It's exciting to see guys who you've been with for the past few years who haven't really gotten as many opportunities as other guys to … show what they've got. You root for those guys."