Jump to content

STORY: John Brantley steps down at Belleview

SportsNut25

By SportsNut25
in The Huddle

 Share

Recommended Posts


Proseteye College Walk On

Proseteye

Posted
Posted

The enigma of Belleview. Had practically no winning season since 2004 when they were undefeated and lost a close one in the 2nd round of the playoffs. No matter who was the the coach along the way they sometimes lost every game in a few seasons. Along comes Brantley, in the 2016 season, and all of a sudden they are a playoff team once again. Unfortunately, Belleview will revert to form. Unless a really strong and knowledgeable coach like Brantley takes over, this team will go back to being the same ol same ol. I still remember that team in 2004. Their offense, which was mostly a powerful ground game, was very difficult to stop. I'm quite sure, with Brantley as HC, they were a balanced offense and possibly out of the Power I formation. Hate to see him leave and am sure the team and fans are saying "what do we do now"?

  • 4 weeks later...
Proseteye College Walk On

Proseteye

Posted
Posted

I only wish the best for Belleview. I don't really feel that this was a case of nepotism since Kelly was already an assistant coach with the team, under Brantley, and did have a pretty good resume. After all, he should have been given preference should he not have? He's a known product and, with Brantley leaving after only one season, you should do your best to maintain cohesiveness with the team.

 

That being said, this Belleview team did not lose a lot to graduation. Many of the underclassmen carried the load. Their QB, Corey Wilsher, was only a Sophomore last season and passed for nearly 1,500 yards. They have a couple of good Sophomore and Junior RBs back along with three or four WRs. Their defense will mostly be returning Sophomores and Juniors. We play them, the first game of the season at Belleview, and we should know how good they are going to be after that. I think it's going to be one tough game.

GridAcesPeanut Rookie

GridAcesPeanut

Posted
Posted

Unfortunately, word around town is that the kids may not be as happy with Kelly as the folks who made the hiring decision. There's already talk of the talent they didn't lose to graduation moving on to other schools in the county. From what I hear, the Spring practices have been night and day compared to when Brantley was at the helm which means that the cohesiveness is probably out the window already. They also haven't been in the weight room all Spring. I guess we'll see how it comes together at the Spring Game but I don't have high hopes. 

There's no way that it wasn't nepotism considering the high level talent they had in the 4 other final candidates. You can say that Kelly has a good resume but I always have additional questions when a coach GA's at high level colleges but can't make the grade to continue the course upwards. Then his next opportunity comes from his Dad...even as an Assistant Coach. There hasn't been a HC hired where his Dad was a principle in Marion County since 1907. Hasn't been done in a 100 years and it shouldn't have been done this go around. Again, I wish the kids the best but I'm sure this choice will be Belleview's undoing. Hopefully I'm wrong.

SportsNut25 College Starter

SportsNut25

Posted
  • Author
Posted
23 minutes ago, GridAcesPeanut said:

You can say that Kelly has a good resume but I always have additional questions when a coach GA's at high level colleges but can't make the grade to continue the course upwards.

Alabama (Student Asst.)
Georgia (Grad Asst.)
Mississippi College (DL/Special Teams Coordinator) 
Samford (Asst. OL) 
 

Nothing at all wrong with that resume. A ton of GA's from high level colleges end up taking "lower level" job. It has nothing to do with how good they are. It's simply they need to pay some bills and still get their feet wet. It behooves them and their career to go from an FBS GA to a D2/D3/NAIA/JUCO position coach/coordinator before moving back up in the ranks. It gives them a better chance to prove themselves. 

Proseteye College Walk On

Proseteye

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, GridAcesPeanut said:

Unfortunately, word around town is that the kids may not be as happy with Kelly as the folks who made the hiring decision. There's already talk of the talent they didn't lose to graduation moving on to other schools in the county. From what I hear, the Spring practices have been night and day compared to when Brantley was at the helm which means that the cohesiveness is probably out the window already. They also haven't been in the weight room all Spring. I guess we'll see how it comes together at the Spring Game but I don't have high hopes. 

There's no way that it wasn't nepotism considering the high level talent they had in the 4 other final candidates. You can say that Kelly has a good resume but I always have additional questions when a coach GA's at high level colleges but can't make the grade to continue the course upwards. Then his next opportunity comes from his Dad...even as an Assistant Coach. There hasn't been a HC hired where his Dad was a principle in Marion County since 1907. Hasn't been done in a 100 years and it shouldn't have been done this go around. Again, I wish the kids the best but I'm sure this choice will be Belleview's undoing. Hopefully I'm wrong.

If what you say is true then possibly the Rattlers are in for another less than scintillating season. However, I don't understand young people these days. Pick up their blocks and go home when a little bit of adversity is presented to them. Instead of giving Kelly a chance at HC, they now are going to sabotage the season by running off to who knows where. What are these parents teaching their sons? Except for Vanguard, Belleview was the best HS team in the area last season. Most of the players, and what Brantley taught them, are still there. And I'm sure that Kelly is not going to screw with that. So, really, what could be their problem?  Just remember, when you decide to transfer to another school, especially one that is fairly decent, you may just be riding the bench for a year or their HC might just not work out for you. Then what do you do?  :huh:

Proseteye College Walk On

Proseteye

Posted
Posted

In a pre-season jamboree, at Dunnellon HS, Belleview came out on top 8-0 in a quarter against Forest HS and 12-7 in a quarter against Dunnellon HS. Although spring games don't mean much it does show that the Rattlers may be picking up where they left off last season.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Posts

    • Perspective
      Teddy Bridgewater begs for donations

      By Perspective · Posted

      Nolebull, You are making a good argument for what the rule ought to be or why the rule ought to be changed.   I'm telling you what the rule is.  Interestingly, I witnessed first hand the FHSAA deal with a case that was very similar to the (presumably, hypothetical) one you just described.  A family provided a kid with a bed for the night because that kid had an unfortunate family situation that would have left him homeless for the night had a teammate's family not stepped up and given him a place to stay for the night.  Yep, you got it, impermissible benefit.  Coach and school penalized.  The difficulty is coming up with rules that can't be taken advantage of.  Where do you draw the line?   If paying for an Uber is OK, why can't you just buy the kid a car instead?  More convenient for all parties.  If you can buy a kid a meal, why can't you take his family grocery shopping and let them stock up?  Or, better yet, just give then a gift card and let them spend the money as they please.  What do you do when one school offers up a $1,000 gift card, but another school is willing to give the kid a $2,000 gift card?  Do we really want to turn high school sports into professional sports?
    • nolebull813
      Teddy Bridgewater begs for donations

      By nolebull813 · Posted

      Some kids NEED to transfer to get in the best position to change the trajectory of their entire life. Could literally save their life. Difference between going to college and being stuck in your neighborhood getting lost to streets.    And I can only speak for myself, but I’m more interested in a at-risk kid changing his situation for the better in hopes of saving his life than your favorite high school team losing a game because he transferred from your favorite school. 
    • nolebull813
      Teddy Bridgewater begs for donations

      By nolebull813 · Posted

      I wouldn’t be so critical of the FHSAA if they didn’t lie and say they give 2 craps about student athletes. I wish people would just be honest. But I guess if they were honest, it would mess up their hustle. 
    • nolebull813
      Teddy Bridgewater begs for donations

      By nolebull813 · Posted

      Wait are you saying there is a rule that bars an adult mentor who coaches young men a sport from helping a struggling student athlete and his family with transportation? Whoa that’s next level crazy.    “Hey coach I’m on the side of the road and almost got hit. I’m miles from school and it’s 110 degrees out. Can you get me a ride?” ”Sorry. Some turds 6 hours away in Gainesville said I can’t. Hope you don’t get hit or pass out.” 
    • Perspective
      Teddy Bridgewater begs for donations

      By Perspective · Posted

      Say what you want, justify it however you want, wish the rules weren't what they are, but there is no question that a coach or other school representative paying for Uber rides for kids playing sports is a violation of the existing FHSAA rules.  Period.  And Teddy Bridgewater may be or have been an elite athlete, may be or become an excellent high school football coach, and/or may have his heart in the right place, but tweeting out a message to the world that you have done something that undoubtedly constitutes a violation of the rules is just plain stupid. 

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...