Scot Brantley
Encyclopedia
Scot Eugene Brantley is an American radio and television sports broadcaster
and former college and professional football
player who was a linebacker
in the National Football League
(NFL) for eight seasons in the 1980s. Brantley played college football
for the University of Florida
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Tampa Buccaneers of the NFL.
in 1958. He attended Forest High School in Ocala, Florida
, where he played high school football
for the Forest Wildcats. Brantley was a starting
linebacker on the Wildcats varsity
as a freshman
, and as a junior
and senior
, he was a member of the Wildcats' 1974 and 1975 Florida Class 3A high school state championship teams. Brantley was twice named a high school All-American by Parade
magazine, and was one of the mostly highly sought-after college recruits in the country in 1975. He was also a standout outfielder
for the Wildcats baseball
team, and was drafted by the New York Mets
despite having already signed with the Florida Gators
to play college football.
In 2007, thirty-one years after he graduated from high school, the Florida High School Athletic Association
(FHSAA) recognized Brantley as one of the "100 Greatest Players of the First 100 Years" of Florida high school football.
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
, where he played for coach Doug Dickey
and coach Charley Pell
's Florida Gators football
teams from 1976 to 1979. Brantley was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference
(SEC) selection in 1977 and 1978 and received honorable mention All-American honors in 1977 and 1978. His senior season in 1979 was cut short by a brain injury after he was knocked unconscious in the Gators' first home game, which was a severe blow to a team in the first year of a coaching transition. Brantley led the Gators in tackles during the 1976 and 1978 seasons, and his career total of 467 tackles still ranks second on the Gators' all-time records list.
Brantley was previously inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1990, and the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame in 2010.
, and he played linebacker for the Buccaneers for his entire eight-year NFL career from to . Brantley became a regular starter in his third season in , played in 114 games, started in seventy-one of them, and had eight interceptions in his career.
on the Buccaneers Radio Network. He now hosts a daily radio show on WHBO
in Tampa, Florida
every weekday afternoon.
Brantley's broadcasting career has had ups and downs. The Gators and Buccaneers both unexpectedly dropped him from their broadcast booths after the 2004 and 2005 seasons, respectively, after he had spent seven years in each of those positions. Hardy Nickerson
replaced him for the Buccaneers broadcasts, while Lee McGriff took his spot when he returned to the Gators broadcasts after spending several years alongside Mick Hubert
in the 1980s and 1990s. Brantley's previous radio show on WQYK-AM was also canceled due to format changes with the station.
Brantley suffered two small stroke
s in 2008, and lost most of his sight in his left eye as a result. He was forced to take a leave of absence from his radio broadcasting responsibilities while recovering from the strokes and subsequent heart surgery.
, is the Florida Gators' starting quarterback
for the 2010 and 2011 college football seasons. His brother, John Brantley, III, was the Gators' starting quarterback in 1978.
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
and former college and professional football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was a linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) for eight seasons in the 1980s. Brantley played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Tampa Buccaneers of the NFL.
Early years
Brantley was born in Chester, South CarolinaChester, South Carolina
Chester is a small city in Chester County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 6,476 at the 2000 census and a center urban cluster population of 11,140...
in 1958. He attended Forest High School in Ocala, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
, where he played high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
for the Forest Wildcats. Brantley was a starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
linebacker on the Wildcats varsity
Varsity team
In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
as a freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
, and as a junior
Junior (education)
"Junior" is a term used in the United States to describe a student in their 3rd year of study . A Junior is considered an upperclassman...
and senior
Senior (education)
Senior is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the 4th year of study .-High school:...
, he was a member of the Wildcats' 1974 and 1975 Florida Class 3A high school state championship teams. Brantley was twice named a high school All-American by Parade
Parade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
magazine, and was one of the mostly highly sought-after college recruits in the country in 1975. He was also a standout outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
for the Wildcats baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team, and was drafted by the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
despite having already signed with the Florida Gators
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
to play college football.
In 2007, thirty-one years after he graduated from high school, the Florida High School Athletic Association
Florida High School Athletic Association
The Florida High School Athletic Association is an organization whose purpose is to organize sports competition for high school It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations ....
(FHSAA) recognized Brantley as one of the "100 Greatest Players of the First 100 Years" of Florida high school football.
College career
Brantley received an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he played for coach Doug Dickey
Doug Dickey
Douglas Adair "Doug" Dickey is a former American college football player and coach and college athletics administrator. Dickey is a South Dakota native who was raised in Florida and graduated from the University of Florida, where he played college football...
and coach Charley Pell
Charley Pell
Charles Byron "Charley" Pell was an American college football player and coach. Pell was an Alabama native and an alumnus of the University of Alabama, where he played college football. He is most notably remembered as the head coach of the Clemson University and the University of Florida...
's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
teams from 1976 to 1979. Brantley was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) selection in 1977 and 1978 and received honorable mention All-American honors in 1977 and 1978. His senior season in 1979 was cut short by a brain injury after he was knocked unconscious in the Gators' first home game, which was a severe blow to a team in the first year of a coaching transition. Brantley led the Gators in tackles during the 1976 and 1978 seasons, and his career total of 467 tackles still ranks second on the Gators' all-time records list.
Brantley was previously inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1990, and the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame in 2010.
Professional career
After his college career, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Brantley in the third round (seventy-sixth pick overall) of the 1980 NFL Draft1980 NFL Draft
The 1980 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1980. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and...
, and he played linebacker for the Buccaneers for his entire eight-year NFL career from to . Brantley became a regular starter in his third season in , played in 114 games, started in seventy-one of them, and had eight interceptions in his career.
Life after the NFL
Following his professional football career, Brantley pursued a career in sports broadcasting. He has served on the Gator Radio Network as both a color analyst during games and an analyst during pre-game, half-time and post-game shows. Brantley also spent ten seasons as the broadcast partner of Gene DeckerhoffGene Deckerhoff
Emerson Eugene "Gene" Deckerhoff, Jr. is the radio play-by-play announcer of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a post he has held since 1989...
on the Buccaneers Radio Network. He now hosts a daily radio show on WHBO
WHBO
WMGG is a talk radio station in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. WHBO is licensed to serve the community of Dunedin, Florida, USA, and is owned by Genesis Communications....
in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
every weekday afternoon.
Brantley's broadcasting career has had ups and downs. The Gators and Buccaneers both unexpectedly dropped him from their broadcast booths after the 2004 and 2005 seasons, respectively, after he had spent seven years in each of those positions. Hardy Nickerson
Hardy Nickerson
Hardy Otto Nickerson is a former American football linebacker who played 16 seasons for four teams from 1987 to 2002 in the National Football League and is currently the head football coach at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, Calif. He attended Verbum Dei High School, a Catholic school...
replaced him for the Buccaneers broadcasts, while Lee McGriff took his spot when he returned to the Gators broadcasts after spending several years alongside Mick Hubert
Mick Hubert
Mick Hubert is the radio play-by-play announcer of Florida Gators athletic teams at the University of Florida. He covers football, basketball, baseball, and other sports. Hubert has worked for UF since 1989....
in the 1980s and 1990s. Brantley's previous radio show on WQYK-AM was also canceled due to format changes with the station.
Brantley suffered two small stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
s in 2008, and lost most of his sight in his left eye as a result. He was forced to take a leave of absence from his radio broadcasting responsibilities while recovering from the strokes and subsequent heart surgery.
Gator football family
Brantley's nephew, John Brantley, IVJohn Brantley
John Brantley, IV is an American football quarterback for the Florida Gators football team of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida...
, is the Florida Gators' starting quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the 2010 and 2011 college football seasons. His brother, John Brantley, III, was the Gators' starting quarterback in 1978.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida Gators football, 1970–1979
- History of the Tampa Bay BuccaneersHistory of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-John McKay and early frustration :The Buccaneers joined the NFL as members of the AFC West in 1976. The following year, they were moved to the NFC Central, while the other 1976 expansion team, the Seattle Seahawks, switched conferences with Tampa Bay and joined the AFC West...
- List of Florida Gators football players