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.

[6] His senior season in 1979 was cut short by a brain injury after he was knocked unconscious in the Gators' first home game,[7] which was a severe blow to a team in the first year of a coaching transition.

[14] Brantley became a regular starter in his third season in 1982, played in 114 games, started in seventy-one of them, and had eight interceptions in his career.

Brantley also spent ten seasons as the broadcast partner of Gene Deckerhoff on the Buccaneers Radio Network.

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.

[16] Brantley's previous radio show on WQYK was also canceled due to format changes with the station.

[18] He was forced to take a leave of absence from his radio broadcasting responsibilities while recovering from the strokes and subsequent heart surgery.