Seven months after his arrival at UF from Wisconsin, Graham Mertz is the Gators' starting quarterback heading into the season opener in two weeks at Utah. Florida coach Billy Napier made it official late Friday afternoon when he informed Mertz and the team that the fifth-year senior transfer had won the job over Jack Miller III.
"The first thing I told him is that it's an honor and a blessing, and I'm going to treat it as such," Mertz said. "You've got to walk with that every single day."
Mertz has logged countless hours at the team's Heavener Football Training Center over that time, often arriving before any of his teammates and then being the last one to leave.
Mertz's schedule has only intensified since preseason camp opened last month, his bushy hair indicating where his attention has been.
"This is what camp does to you,'' Mertz said Tuesday as he spoke to the media for the first time since camp started. "I've needed a haircut for about a month now."
Florida fans won't mind Mertz's overgrown mop top if he completes passes and wins games. That's why Napier brought him here. That's why Mertz came here.
Together, Mertz said, they can accomplish big things.
"He understands,'' Mertz said of Napier, a college quarterback at Furman. "I wish you guys could sit in a quarterback meeting and just hear how he installs. It's so detailed. He knows the pitfalls of every play. He's seen it. He can recall a play from five years ago and just pop it up on the board. 'This is what I saw. This is why it works.' As a quarterback, that's why it's really helpful in your learning process because he's seen it all.
"He knows what throws are a little bit hard, what throws are a little bit easier, and he designs the offense in that way to kind of free you up and go play."
In an offseason that included a roster makeover unlike any the Gators have ever experienced – they have 48 new players listed on their preseason roster – Mertz is the one under the giant microscope. He started 32 games at Wisconsin and has the most starts of any Gators quarterback since Tim Tebow made 41 in a row from 2007-09.
In the 13 seasons since Tebow's departure, Florida has used 15 starting quarterbacks, including Miller in the Las Vegas Bowl loss to Oregon State in December.
Mertz's addition created competition and added a veteran to stabilize the position entering Napier's second season following the early departure of Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in last April's NFL Draft.
Mertz, the highest-ranked prep quarterback to sign at Wisconsin, embarked on a roller-coaster ride that ended with 5,405 yards passing, 38 touchdowns and 26 interceptions in Madison. He opted for a fresh start when the Badgers made a coaching change after last season.
He has taken an all-business approach at Florida – mixed with some rounds of golf and get-to-know-you dinners with teammates.
Napier has watched a player who understands where he is in his career and who wants to take advantage of his second chance.
"Graham's done a great job,'' Napier said. "He's worked from the minute he pulled up in the parking lot until, you know, just a while ago. He's continued to work to improve, so been very pleased in that regard. The level of professionalism here that I think is respected."
That was Mertz's mission from the first day. He visited UF last December, a few days before his 22nd birthday, as the Gators prepared for the Las Vegas Bowl. Less than a month later, Mertz was part of the team.
He quickly turned on his tunnel vision and turned off his social media (most of the time).
"I'd say the biggest thing is consistency, just kind of been my theme since I've gotten here,'' he said. "Falling in love with the process every single day. If you take that and take your purpose in everything you do every day, it makes it easy. It makes it fun. I've been working, but I've had a blast doing every second of it. I knew the purpose of everything I was doing."
Mertz would rise early, try to get a workout at 9 a.m., then spend the day in meetings, watching film, physical recovery, and talking ball with his teammates. Day after day, he kept it simple and structured.
When he needed a break, he became a college student.
"I still was a young man,'' he said. "I still went out and played golf, hung out with the guys. No matter what I had to do during that day, it all came down to what I have to do for this team to get us where we want to go."
Mertz met with former Gators Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel in the spring that left an impression. It also made him more aware of the legacy of playing quarterback at Florida.
Wuerffel, Tebow and Steve Spurrier each have Heisman statues outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, and one of Mertz's first stops when he visited was to check out the bronze figures.
No one mentions Mertz as a Heisman candidate in his first season at Florida. But that doesn't mean he isn't trying to live up to the standard.
"You got to honor that every day," he said. "There's a lot of weight that previous Gators have gone through to make this place what it is.
"I'm very psyched about what this offense can be. I love this offense. All the ins and outs of this, all the checks, you really need to know what you're doing and what you're seeing. It frees you up to just go play the game."
As Tuesday's press conference neared the finish line, Mertz was asked whether he felt he had a new lease on life and a chip on his shoulder.
He scrambled for a second behind the mic but then tossed a spiral at the reporters in the room.
"One hundred percent,'' he said. "I think back to just walking into college. You think you know everything. And from the jump, you get humbled. Yeah, I've got a chip on my shoulder."
The Graham Mertz story is scheduled for its next showing on Aug. 31 at Utah.
August 17, 2023 at 01:47AM
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Hard-Working Mertz Confident Long Hours Will Pay Off - Florida Gators
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