How staying ready helped Florida football QB Max Brown stay calm against No. 11 Missouri

[ad_1]

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Florida football sophomore quarterback Max Brown said he has taken the “one play away” mentality into each game this season since earning the backup role in fall camp.

So, Brown said there were no jitters when he replaced injured Florida Gators starting quarterback Graham Mertz late in the third quarter on Saturday night before a raucous crowd of 62,621 at Faurot Field.

“You’ve got to stay ready,” Brown said. “You’ve got to be ready. So just being able to actually feel it and take a deep breath and say, ‘Let’s go out here and ball,’ that was the mentality.”

Tough ending: Heartbreaker: Florida football falls in final seconds at No. 11 Missouri

Mertz sidelined: Graham Mertz injury update: Florida QB suffers collarbone fracture against Missouri

Brown overcame an early fumble to nearly lead the Florida to an epic comeback on Saturday night. With UF down 30-21 on Missouri with 13:45 left, Brown led UF on a 75-yard touchdown drive and a 45-yard field goal drive to put the Gators ahead 31-30 with 1:36 remaining.

UF’s defense was unable to hold late as Harrison Meevis booted an 30-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to lift the Tigers to a 33-31 lead. But Brown showed he could lead UF’s offense in a high-pressure spot.

“Give Max some credit,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “Max settled in there a little bit and made a few plays. Obviously, he’s a good athlete and we were able to use his legs a little bit in the read game. He made some throws, as well. Max has worked hard. I can’t talk enough about how much improvement since the first day he got there. And he’s a competitor. I think ultimately, he showed that.”

How UF football QB Max Brown overcame the turnover

With Florida driving down 23-21, Brown lost a fumble on a read-option play with running back Montrell Johnson Jr. at the Missouri 15-yard line with…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/staying-ready-helped-florida-football-090005296.html

Author : The Gainesville Sun

Publish date : 2023-11-19 09:00:05

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.