5. John Brantley (2008-2011, Florida)
It has to be difficult to replace the guy that was the guy. And that was Brantley’s job as quarterback at the University of Florida beginning in 2010. Brantley was tasked with replacing Heisman Trophy winning quarterback and national champion, Tim Tebow in Gainesville.
That plan quickly went south for Brantley and the Gators as Brantley would complete only 60% of his passes and throw for 20 touchdowns to 17 interceptions in his two seasons as starting quarterback for the Gators.
In Brantley’s defense, the deck was stacked against him with the exit of Urban Meyer who recruiter him to Gainesville after the 2009 season, and presumed 2010 starter Cam Newton leaving the team in November, 2008.
Brantley was then thrust into the role of starting quarterback with a defensive minded coach in Will Muschamp who would eventually be fired from the University of Florida.
Despite the deck stacked against him, we have to call it was it is with Brantley in that it was disappointing given his ranking as a high school prospect. According to On3, Brantley ranked as the 18th prospect and number four quarterback nationally in the class of 2007. This should have warranted much better results than the 15-11 record the Gators had during Brantley’s two seasons as starting quarterback in 2010 and 2011.