Big Shoes To FIll: Who Will Make an Impact First? Brantley or Gilbert

The two quarterbacks have traveled similar to their respective teams in Gainesville and Austin.

The two had impressive careers as high school players as both received Gatorade Player of the Year awards in 2007 and 2009 with Brantley winning the former achieverment.

Brantley and Gilbert both had committed to the Longhorns after their high school careers while Brantley chose to revoke his commitment to follow in his family footsteps as a Florida quarterback.

After the departures of Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow to the NFL, the two will once again be in charge of  their offenses with teams that each have National Championship aspirations in 2010.

Running Ability

In Gilbert, he has the type of athleticism that former Longhorn McCoy to pass the ball efficently along with the ability to sprint down the field if a play breaks down during a game.

While Brantley, he is more of drop back quarterback that will use the speedy receivers that Florida recruits to blaze down the field to the endzone.

EDGE: Gilbert

Throwing Power/Accuracy

While both players have cannon arms to work with, the power that Brantley has behind his throws gives him the edge as a more pocket passer between the new starting quarterbacks.

EDGE: Brantley

Talent on Offense

The Longhorns and Gators will always have the talent to be conference title contenders along with being National Championship contenders year in and year out as the states of Florida and Texas have arguably the best high school talent in the nation.

EDGE: Draw

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Offensive Scheme

The spread offense of Urban Meyer will be the best setup to make a name for athletic Brantley while the Longhorns will try to move to a more run-centered offense to control the ball and more noticeably take the pressure off of the sophomore Gilbert.

EDGE: Brantley

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Conference Play

The SEC will make or break many quarterbacks that enter the league with any of their 12 respective teams but with the marquee matchups that occur each week will propel Brantley in the national conscious with games against Georgia, Tennessee, and whom ever comes out the SEC West in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta.

EDGE: Brantley

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Present Experience

The amount of backup time that Brantley has received after the Tebow-led Gators ran away from many games over his career will give the experience edge to the Gator quarterback.

EDGE: Brantley

Leadership Qualities

Returning to the point of experience, Brantley has spent more time on the field although those times on the field were against mostly more inferior competition in his career at Florida.

EDGE: Brantley

Final Result

As the college football season starts tomorrow, the eyes of Gator fans will be on Brantley as he looks to pick up where his predecessor left off and attempt to win the SEC championship from Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide.

In Austin, Garrett Gilbert will be coming off his unexpected appearance in the National Championship game while making a return trip to the game a priority for the Longhorn program as he takes the reins of the team.

All in all, the junior John Brantley will make a name for himself adding to making the quickest impact in the college football world this coming season in 2010.