'They're Getting a Class Kid': G'Nivre Carr's Former HS Coach Details Relationship with Gators Commit

G'Nivre Carr committed to the Florida Gators over the summer.

Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star guard G'Nivre Carr. | Cam Parker / Florida Gators on SI

After Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star guard G'Nivre Carr committed to the Florida Gators, one of the first things he did was tell his former high school head coach, who also happens to be a former Gator.

"Coach (John) Brantley, that's my dog," Carr told Florida Gators on SI after committing. "Like Coach Brantley, he had called me. He was like, 'Bro, you're a gator. Let's go.' It was like, man, you know, I was gonna be a Gator all along. I was like, 'You know, I had to play the game.'"

John Brantley III, a UF quarterback in the 1970s and father of former Gator quarterback John Brantley IV, coached Carr at Ocala (Fla.) Trinity Catholic for two seasons from 2022-23. While the two have since gone their separate ways with Carr entering his second season at IMG Academy and Brantley entering his first season leading Ocala (Fla.) Forest, the two have remained in close contact.

"I knew him as an eighth grader, and I had him the first two years at Trinity Catholic and everything. Know him very well. You know, great kid always has a smile on his face," Brantley recently told Florida Gators on SI. "Now, he's a Gator, which is, close to my heart and everything, and I'm excited for him. And every time he's back in town, he always makes his way over to say hi and calls and everything."

Happy to have my former player G’nivre Carr stop by and share his news of commitment to the Florida Gators today!! Proud Coach!!!🐊🏈@OcalaPreps @FlaHSFootball @Dwight_XOS @larryblustein pic.twitter.com/UBRezDeRxn

— John Brantley (@BrantleyCoach) June 5, 2025

Carr, the No. 15 interior lineman and 294th overall player in the ESPN300, chose the Gators over Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, giving the program the first of five commits on the offensive line. The decision to choose Florida, which Carr said was "going to happen sooner or later," was not a surprise in the least bit to Brantley.

"I told him, 'Why did we have to go through all this junk to know what you were probably going to do?'" Brantley joked. "But he did a good job of doing it. He did... At the end of the day, I found out with my son, when you can just drive 30 minutes to go to school and have your family, your siblings come watch you play and all your friends, that means a lot."

That family factor played a major role in Carr's decision to choose the Gators, he explained over the summer.

"The moment that made me want to commit to Florida is, recently, my pops had passed, and the only school that stuck with me through all that is Florida," he explained. "Florida was the right fit for me anyway. It's bigger than football for me."

On the field, Carr is a "big athletic kid," who's "evolved as a player," Brantley said. However, it's Carr's off-field demeaner that stands out to Brantley.

"They're getting a class kid that'll make us proud. You won't be reading about him outside of football," he said. "All his stuff is going to be positive. It's going to be in that building over there in Gainesville."

Offensive lineman G'nivre Carr (#61) during practice on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 on IMG Academy Football Media Day in Bradenton, Florida. | Mike Lang / Sarasota Herald-Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK