Max Brown talks Florida loss at Mizzou, replacing Graham Mertz

COLUMBIA, Mo. — In the first significant action of his college career, Florida quarterback Max Brown came off the bench Saturday and orchestrated two fourth-quarter scoring drives in the 33-31 loss at Missouri.

He replaced starting QB Graham Mertz after his collarbone fracture and fumbled in the red zone on his first series, but responded by the Gators on a touchdown drive and then added a go-ahead field goal late before the Tigers won on a last-second kick.

Brown finished with 56 yards on 4 of 5 passing and seven carries for 42 yards, including a 27-yard run on third-and-3 to set up the field goal.

“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.”

Here’s everything Brown said during his post-game press conference.

Max Brown Q&A

On what went through his mind after Mertz got hurt:

Brown: “Graham’s a warrior so just being behind him and seeing at practice following him around and seeing him compete, I think that really made me keep that one-play mentality and just always being ready for it. I think he’s done a great job and been a great leader throughout the whole season, so I think he’s really helped me prepare for this moment.”

On his emotions:

Brown: “You’re one play away. You’re always one play away. You’ve got to stay ready. 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.”

On the confidence he can take from this game heading into next week against Florida State:

Brown: “It builds confidence. I think going out there when you get any type of reps and going out there and playing actual live football, it gives you confidence. Going out there, playing, it’s just football at the end of the day.”

On bouncing back from a costly turnover:

Brown: “My team did a great job having my back. The defense was coming over to me and telling me, ‘We got your back, we’re ready to go. We’re going to get you the ball right back.’ So I think that ended up giving me confidence to go out there and perform. They did a great job being able to give me opportunities to go into the game and make plays.”

On the read option play to Trevor Etienne:

Brown: “That’s my dawg, man, so being able to see seven run into the end zone like that is big time. It’s something we’ve talked about for sure.”

On the misfire on a handoff:

Brown: “It’s 100 percent on me. I got to be better mechanically. I got to be able to extend the ball and be able to not put the ball in jeopardy so that’s 100 percent on me.”

On the impact of a lack of game reps on the handoff:

Brown: “I don’t think so. I think it’s just coming down and making the play on my end so I think I just got to stick with working on it and being able to correct it.”

On his fourth-down conversion pass:

Brown: “Being able to have faith in your receivers, I think that’s big, especially on fourth down. When you look out there and you’re like, ‘Who am I going to throw it to,’ I got faith in all four of these guys and that’s a big breath of fresh air. Like I can throw it to all four of these guys right here. I think being able to pick from any of the four calmed me down and allowed me to deliver.”

On a his pass to Kahleil Jackson:

Brown: “That was a big momentum shift for our drive. I think being able to have confidence in Kahleil, just putting it in his vicinity and allowing him to make plays. That’s a big-time confidence booster for our offense, being able to keep the drive going.”

On his mobility:

Brown: “I think it just adds something to the offense to be able to give us another edge to try to go win football games.”

On his one play mentality and what he learned about himself:

Brown: “I think I have to give a lot of credit to my family to be able to give me the confidence to have that one-play mentality. My dad is always texting me before the game, you’re one play away. It’s one thing to know it but it’s another to actually be ready for it.”

On what, if anything, changes about his prep:

Brown: “I think going into each week you prepare as a starter, so I don’t think it really changes much.”