Three Takeaways: Graham Mertz Wins Florida's QB Competition

Billy Napier named Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz as Florida's 2023 starting quarterback on Friday. Here are All Gators' three biggest takeaways from Napier's decision.

Photo: Graham Mertz and Billy Napier; Credit: Zach Goodall

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It's official: Graham Mertz has been named Florida's starting quarterback entering the 2023 season, Billy Napier shared with the Gators and via press release on Friday afternoon.

Below are All Gators' three biggest takeaways from Napier declaring Mertz, a fifth-year redshirt junior, the winner of his first quarterback competition as Florida's head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. 

Napier is placing faith in his coaching, system and rebuilt offensive roster to elevate Mertz's game

Mertz's inconsistencies displayed as Wisconsin's starting quarterback are well-documented and don't need to be addressed in-depth in these takeaways. If you want a more thorough evaluation of Mertz's time there and how Napier can help improve his career 1.4-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, read this story.

What matters is that Napier — not only Florida's head coach but also its offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach — believes his hands-on approach can elevate Mertz's game above what was displayed during his stint with the Badgers.

Mertz has gotten a fresh start, in a sense. Napier considered it a "renewed lease on life" for the quarterback on July 19 at SEC Media Day.

"I think he's doing exactly what you would want a veteran quarterback to do. This is like acquiring a free agent that has played multiple years as a starter," Napier expressed.

"He's learning our system, he's embraced our methods, our way of doing things. And I think you get almost a renewed lease on life, like having a new lease on life. You come in, you're experienced, you've got a chip on your shoulder, you're there with purpose. And I think he's been really professional in his approach, I've been very impressed."

The hope is that Napier's overseeing of the position, a new scheme, and an improved supporting cast of weapons and blockers will lead Mertz to new heights as a passer. 

The team returns a compilation of 1,560 yards and 16 touchdowns at running back in the duo of Montrell Johnson Jr.and Trevor Etienne, as well as its leading receiver from a year ago in Ricky Pearsall and freshman All-American offensive tackle Austin Barber. Those veterans have aided Mertz's transition to the Gators' offense. 

Napier acquired six new offensive linemen — three transfers, highlighted by guard Micah Mazzccua, and three high school signees — to fill voids up front this offseason, and supplied the skill positions with intriguing young talents like receivers Eugene Wilson III, Andy Jean and Aidan Mizell, too. 

Three years of tape suggest Mertz has yet to live up to the potential he showcased as a recruit, when he was a member of the Elite 11 and considered the consensus No. 3 pro-style quarterback prospect in the class of 2019. 

In order for Florida to flip its winning percentage to the other side of .500 in 2023, Napier's system must help Mertz play closer to that ranking than he has in recent years.

Mertz was the obvious choice. What took so long to make it official? 

Since SEC Media Days, Napier suggested on multiple occasions that the team's Thursday intrasquad scrimmage should provide significant clarity regarding the quarterback competition. More recently, on Aug. 8, he stated that the scrimmage would "have a lot to do" with the decision.

Prepared to be asked to declare a winner during his Friday press conference, the day after the scrimmage, Napier delayed an announcement before the question could be posed.

"I know we all want to talk about quarterback. We'll have that decision for you," Napier said in his introduction." We're gonna go through a process with our players and obviously our staff, quick turnaround from yesterday. So, we'll let you know when that's been done."

Napier later clarified that he and Florida's coaching staff have "seen enough" to determine a starter, but that the verdict had not yet been announced to the team.

Now that it has, it is fair to wonder what took so long.

Mertz has, by all accounts, been the first quarterback up in drills and worked with the projected first-team offense more than any other passer dating back to spring camp. Reporters deduced as much from media viewing periods of practice, and fans witnessed the same in the Orange and Blue spring game and Saturday's open fall practice.

If one were to assess the competition based on previous experience — a quality of Mertz's that Napier has frequently acknowledged — Mertz is by far the most qualified with 32 collegiate starts under his belt compared to Jack Miller III's one and Max Brown's zero.

And frankly, to the point of Napier's praise for Mertz, neither Miller nor Brown has received the same level of public support throughout the offseason. 

Napier said once during the spring that Miller had displayed "drastic improvement," and twice said Mertz's presence caused Miller, among others, to "respond" in the practice setting, but that was about it for the fourth-year redshirt sophomore. 

And on Aug. 3, Napier admitted that Brown must close an "information gap" that comes with playing the position, although the redshirt freshman has developed physically and mechanically this year. 

In both cases, Napier essentially alluded to the idea that Mertz had a leg up on his competition.

Without saying he was ahead directly, Napier indicated all offseason that Mertz was setting the example at his position. The choice to award him the role has always appeared obvious, which makes the hesitation to make it official — remember, not only to the media but also the team — puzzling. 

The benefit of secrecy can be disregarded. Utah, Florida's Week 1 opponent, has undoubtedly studied the available tape of each quarterback (although Brown's would be from high school) throughout the offseason. Not to mention, the Utes can study the scheme from their meeting with the Gators last year, every other game Florida played, and matchups Napier has called offensively over the years.

And now the Utes officially know who to prepare for, over two weeks before kickoff.

Perhaps Napier, knowing the answer already, wanted each quarterback to maintain their drive into fall camp rather than take their foot off the gas with a first-teamer cemented. 

But if that were to be the case, did Mertz lose out on valuable first-team reps in fall camp — consumed by Miller and Brown — that would have been beneficial as he prepares for his first season in Napier's offense? 

The bottom line is that Mertz was always going to be the starter. That much has been clear since his January transfer.

If what Napier has seen behind closed doors suggests otherwise and forced him to elongate the competition, Florida might be in trouble offensively this season.

The battle for QB2 continues

With Mertz widely presumed to be the starter, all eyes have been on Miller and Brown throughout fall camp to determine who will emerge as the Gators' primary backup quarterback. It is between these two passers where there has been a more even split of first and second-team reps in practice, rather than between the trio.

While Napier made Mertz's inheritance of QB1 status public on Friday, Florida's QB2 is unlikely to be made official until the program's Week 1 depth chart is released.

Find a more in-depth breakdown of the competition between Miller and Brown from All Gators' projection of UF's 2023 quarterback depth chart here, and a snippet of that analysis below. 

It shouldn't come as a surprise if an "

or

" is spotted between Brown and Miller on Florida's official Week 1 depth chart.

As we see it though, if Florida were to need an extended replacement for Mertz, such as in the event of an injury, Miller would be the top choice as of right now. But if the Gators' offense were to underperform and need a spark in a game, the coaching staff might look to Brown's upside to light it. 

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