Brantley on facing hostile crowd at Alabama
Thursday, September 30, 2010 | Football, Scott Carter
Florida starting quarterback John Brantley is officially 1-0 when playing before a crowd of more than 100,000 on the road.
He lost his voice in the Gators' 31-17 win at Tennessee on Sept. 18, but leaving with a victory in his first career SEC road start was worth it.
On Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Brantley will face another 100,000-plus strong crowd when the Gators visit No. 1-ranked Alabama.
Brantley hopes the experience of playing at Tennessee helps him manage what is certain to be the most hostile environment of his young career.
"Neyland was definitely a good little taste for it,'' Brantley said. "It's tough to prepare for it. I think it's more you've just got to prepare mentally. Try not to let the crowd affect you too much. Hopefully prepare well enough this week where the crowd isn't a factor where you can just concentrate on what you have to do every play.''
Brantley expects the crowd noise at Alabama to be even louder, which could mean losing his voice again.
"[Playing at Tennessee] definitely helped me learn how to act in the huddle and stuff like that; how loud I have to be,'' he said. "With this week, especially, I've got to take it up just a notch further.''
