Many prayers and thoughts from around the nation and the state of Florida are going out to the Trinity High School football coach and previous UF quarterback, John Brantley III. John Brantley III was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. He will undergo surgery on March 10th to remove his cancer.

Brantley, 53, will undergo his surgery this week as doctors reported that they are confident they can remove the cancer since it is in the early stages. After his cancer is removed, he plans to get involved with local cancer awareness programs.

Brantley III passed for over 1300 yards at Florida in 1978. At Trinity High School, he led his team to the 2008 2B title game. In his past two years with the Celtics, he has compiled an impressive record of 21-5. Brantley still plans to be the head coach at Trinity in 2010. His son, John Brantley IV will be the Gator starting quarterback come March in spring training.

GatorSports.com reported, “We sat down and talked about it, and John is going to be the football coach at Trinity Catholic going forward,” said Celtics athletic director and former UF pitcher Tommy Bond. “He’s a big part of the Trinity family and we just want to support him through all of this. We look forward to getting him healthy and back on the field.”

As Brantley III prepares for life saving surgery, his son is anticipating spring football starting on March 17th along with the comeback of Urban Meyer who is currently taking a leave of absence. GSN has Brantley and his family in prayers leading up to his surgery.

(Information collected from GatorSports.com)
By: Justin Rectenwald