John Brantley Injury: Charlie Weis Holds Keys to Gators' Success in QB's Absence

Charlie Weis helped fix the Florida Gators offense in only a few short weeks on campus. With senior QB John Brantley, Weis had the quarterback he needed to make things work in Gainesville.

Along with new head coach Will Muschamp, who is known for his defense, the Gators were back and possibly in contention for the SEC title until late in the first half. While Alabama started to assert their dominance in that second quarter, all hopes for a comeback against the nation's most fearsome defense were wiped out with an injury to Brantley.

Reports out of Gainesville indicate that Brantley has been seen on campus with a leg brace.

ESPN's Joe Schad reports Brantley is not expected to play against the No. 1 LSU Tigers this week in Baton Rouge.

This means that highly-regarded freshman Jeff Driskel is likely to get his first start for the Florida Gators.

The 6'4", 230-pound quarterback is not your typical drop back passer or pro-style quarterback. Despite his prototype size, Driskel was considered a legitimate dual-threat in his high school's spread offense. His athleticism was described as "off the charts," and the speed he possesses for his size is remarkable.

The Gators, however, don't run a spread offense anymore.

Weis, unfortunately, doesn't have the veteran he needs to make his offense work. At least not for the toughest game on the schedule this season.

If Brantley legitimately does miss the LSU game, and the Gators avoid going to Trey Burton at QB, it will be up to Driskel to take on the Tigers' defense in Death Valley this weekend.

He completed just two of six passes against the Crimson Tide and and is only 7-of-16 on the season with two interceptions and two sacks.

It will be up to Weis to simplify the offense as much as possible and tailor some of the scheme to fit Driskel's athleticism and playmaking skills. We shouldn't expect Weis to put him in the spread, but we should expect to see the young QB turned loose a bit more in effort to get comfortable.

The Gators' defense will go to battle with the Tigers' offense, but LSU has a distinct advantage over Florida even if Brantley were on the field for this game.

With Driskel, it will come down to what Weis can get him to do this week in practice. He'll have the opportunity to get all the reps with Brantley down, and he can't ask for much more than that.

Charlie Weis won't be in uniform for the Gators, but he'll be just as important as a player this week in getting his freshman quarterback ready to play.