Why Florida Gators, Billy Napier will sink or swim with Graham Mertz

GAINESVILLE — Whenever Florida Gators coach Billy Napier tried to put a positive spin on a rocky offseason that included a staff overhaul from a 5-7 season, attrition to an elite recruiting class and a lawsuit from a former blue-chip signee, he pivoted to one player:

Graham Mertz.

“That’s the story of the offseason…” Napier said in May. “We’ve got a returning starter who, in my opinion, (is) one of the best quarterbacks in the country.”

Now that the offseason has turned into game week ahead of Saturday’s opener against No. 19 Miami, Napier’s tenure may hinge on whether his preseason proclamation is right.

Not that it was anything new, exactly. After Mertz signed with Florida in the 2022-23 cycle, Napier said he and his staffers scouted two-dozen transfers or potential transfers in that cycle. They picked Mertz.

Not Sam Hartman, who had a better passer efficiency than Mertz (159.50-157.59) for 10-win Notre Dame. Or Mikey Keene, a former UCF starter who passed for almost 3,000 yards at Fresno State. Or Haynes King, who began his second season at Georgia Tech by upsetting Florida State.

They picked Mertz, whose completion percentage fell every year since he joined Wisconsin as a top-100 national recruit.

“He gave me a chance,” Mertz said Monday. “I took the chance.”

Neither side does, or should, regret it, despite last year’s losing season. Mertz’s completion percentage (72.9) ranked third nationally. His 20-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio was excellent. His passing efficiency was in the top 20, two spots ahead of Heisman Trophy runnerup and Tampa Bay Tech alumnus Michael Penix Jr.

But quarterbacks, like coaches, are judged by their team’s record. Mertz’s team underachieved. If this year is going to be any different, it will be up to Mertz to change it.

In some ways, he already has. As a newcomer last year, Mertz wanted to earn his teammates’ respect and get to know them before he started speaking up in the locker room. As a returning starter, that’s no longer the case. He could (and did) start correcting issues he saw this offseason — preventative things that should carry over to the fall.

“You can sense he came back for a reason,” Napier said.

Mertz’s direct onfield impact has a chance to be even bigger. Year 2 is often when transfer quarterbacks click; the top three quarterbacks in last year’s Heisman voting were all transfers in Year 2 at School 2.

During last year’s team-wide failures, Napier stressed the importance of experience. Only eight quarterbacks have appeared in more games than Mertz (43). Then again, one of them will be on the other sidelines Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium: Miami’s Cam Ward.

Mertz certainly sounded like a seasoned veteran Monday. He hasn’t merely broken down the Hurricanes’ talented defensive front. He has been around long enough to understand why Miami’s coaches are putting certain players in certain positions — and how the system he has mastered under Napier can exploit those decisions.

“That’s where I’ve grown,” Mertz said. “Now I know what to expect. I know what checks are coming based on the weaknesses of the play, how to attack the weakness of the defense every play.”

It’s one thing, of course, to explain all that on a whiteboard or film session. It’s another to execute against a hated rival, especially if his offensive line leaks too much, his receivers struggle to get open, his defense forces the Gators into a shootout or any of last year’s other problems recur.

But if Mertz is the player Napier says he is — one of the best quarterbacks in the country — he’ll be good enough to erase our hide other issues. He’ll make the right read, complete more downfield passes, ignite explosive plays and say the necessary things on the sideline.

He’ll do everything necessary to affirm everything Napier saw when he plucked him from the portal ahead of two dozen other options.

“I feel like I owe him everything,” Mertz said.

He can start paying him back Saturday by leading Napier to one of the biggest wins of his career.

• • •

Sign up for the Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.

Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on Instagram, X and Facebook.