Gators studied 24 quarterbacks before landing on Graham Mertz

Untitled designby:Nick de la Torre•02/04/23•

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The transfer portal is quickly changing college sports. One look at Florida’s quarterback room paints that picture. Two of Florida’s three scholarship quarterbacks are transfers, with Graham Mertz being the latest addition to the room.

The room has been battered this off-season. Jalen Kitna was arrested and dismissed from the team. One-time commit Marcus Stokes had his offer pulled in November after a video surfaced of him using a racial slur. 2022 starter Anthony Richardson declared for the NFL Draft, and Jaden Rashada was let out of his National Letter of Intent after a NIL fiasco.

It leaves the room that Billy Napier coaches lacking for depth. They did add Mertz in the offseason, who will battle with Jack Miller for the starting job this spring. With dozens of Division I and Power 5 quarterbacks in the transfer portal, Napier was asked how he landed on Mertz.

“I think we evaluated like 24 quarterbacks,” Napier said of the process that led to recruiting and signing Mertz. “I think we had eight people operating independently in the building, myself included, and again an objective evaluation, team recruitment.”

Mertz was the highest-rated quarterback to commit to Wisconsin since the advent of recruiting rankings. He started 32 games for the Badgers, which was a major selling point for Napier. A conversation with former Wisconsin head coach, Paul Chryst, went a long way in Mertz’s favor as well.

“You’re talking about a guy who started 32 games, an experienced player, and I do believe he’s got unique tools. When you go back all the way to his high school recruitment, he was one of the top quarterbacks in the country. Little under 6-3, he’s 215 pounds, extremely intelligent,” Napier said of Graham Mertz. “Had a great conversation with Paul Chryst — just all the people there who spoke on his behalf. I think we’re getting an experienced player that’s got arm talent, that can process, and wanted to be at Florida. He has been fantastic.”

Gators will look to add another QB in next portal period

It’s not a knock on Mertz — or even Miller and Brown. The Gators need another scholarship quarterback even if Mertz takes control of the room this spring. When asked on Early Signing Day, Napier said he would like four to five scholarship quarterbacks in the room. They have three after all the attrition in the last three months.

When the transfer portal reopens from May 1-15 the Gators will be buyers.

“We definitely will be in the market in the spring,” Napier said. “I think if there presents an opportunity there’s a player that passes evaluation, we certainly would be the market for another player there.” 

The next portal period will open after spring camps have concluded. There will be players at all positions that read the writing on the wall based on their spring camps and will look to transfer. The question is, will any of them pass Napier’s evaluation and want to come to Florida to compete for the starting job? It’s certainly an enticing opportunity.

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