Is a Year Two Mertz a Gamechanger for the Florida Gators?

Graham Mertz quietly had a good season for the Florida Gators in 2023, can he build on it and be even better in 2024?

Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (left) is embracing his role as the elder statesmen as he looks to build on 2023. / Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

A lot of things have gone against Billy Napier through his two years with the Florida Gators. Some because of his own faults, other mishaps were outside of his control. 

However, one detail going in his favor is that he will have his quarterback from a year ago back for his second year in the system. Starting quarterback Graham Mertz is coming off the best year of his career where he completed 72.9 percent of his passes for 2,903 yards and 20 touchdowns to just three interceptions. 

Having an experienced quarterback under center cannot be understated. He will have had two years in the system learning everything to its fullest. And for Mertz, he said himself he was still trying to learn the offense at this point last year. 

“At this point last year I was still trying to figure out small details and small checks, alerts, stuff like that,” Mertz said. 

Now, those will have been honed in on and tightened up going into this season. 

“Now you’re going to work on those extra details and stuff like that that’s going to come up in games,” Mertz stated. “Instead of focusing on what’s my job on this play, it’s already second nature at that point. Now, it’s spreading it to everyone else.”

Another huge reason as to why this is important is because of the leadership he brings, and how he can bring a high level of comfortability to his teammates around him. 

“Year two, knowing what we’re doing, it's how can I help everybody step into the role that they need to play. I think that’s the biggest thing,” Mertz said. 

Mertz had an impressive season for the Gators last year and many will hope he can build upon it. One way he can do that is by generating more explosive plays. Most of the offense from the previous season felt a lot like a dink and dunk offense where every successful pass was relatively close to the line of scrimmage. While it is great to get any yards on a play, the explosive plays are what wins games. 

A path to getting these explosive plays is by trusting the offensive line more, a position group that was unimpressive a season ago. 

“Yeah, I think we brought in some great pieces,” Mertz answered when asked why the offensive line will be better. “The run game, pass game, guys are executing their assignment, being in the right place with the right hand/head placement. They’ve taken a huge jump this season.”

If Mertz is able to elevate his game to another level and add in certain qualities he lacked from a year ago, then he can definitely be a gamechanger for this offense in 2024.