Florida quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] fell three spots to No. 10 in the most recent SEC quarterback rankings from 247Sports.
Mertz’s drop is less about him and more about first-year quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag], a five-star recruit out of high school. On national signing day, head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] mentioned that Florida would find time to get Lagway into games early on, but the feeling is that he’ll get more snaps than initially expected after the SEC media days.
“A healthy share of Graham Mertz’s playing time this season could be gobbled up by five-star freshman DJ Lagway,” college football analyst Brad Crawford said. “… Billy Napier helped Mertz develop into a formidable signal caller who’s coming off a 20-touchdown season. Napier said in Dallas that the Gators’ most critical offseason personnel decision was Mertz deciding to give it another go in Gainesville. It’s clear, however, Lagway is the future and he’s going to play a bunch this fall in the QB2 role.”
Mertz is looking to make an NFL draft push, but Napier is going to play the best quarterback for the team in a season where Florida faces the toughest schedule in the country.
LSU‘s Garrett Nussmeier, Texas A&M Conner Weigman and Oklahoma‘s Jackson Arnold all passed Mertz in the Nos. 7-10 spots, respectively.
Take a look at the full list below.
247Sports SEC QB Rankings
| Rank | Name | School | Class | Last |
| 1 | Jaxson Dart | Ole Miss | Senior | 3 |
| 2 | Carson Beck | Georgia | Senior | 1 |
| 3 | Jalen Milroe | Alabama | R-Junior | 4 |
| 4 | Quinn Ewers | Texas | Junior | 2 |
| 5 | Brady Cook | Missouri | Senior | 5 |
| 6 | Nico Iamaleava | Tennessee | R-Freshman | 6 |
| 7 | Garrett Nussmeier | LSU | R-Junior | 9 |
| 8 | Conner Weigman | Texas A&M | Sophomore | 8 |
| 9 | Jackson Arnold | Oklahoma | Sophomore | 10 |
| 10 | Graham Mertz | Florida | Senior | 7 |
| 11 | Blake Shapen | Mississippi State | Senior | 12 |
| 12 | Brock Vandagriff | Kentucky | R-Junior | 11 |
| 13 | Payton Thorne | Senior | 14 | |
| 14 | Taylen Green | Arkansas | R-Junior | 13 |
| 15 | LaNorris Sellers | South Carolina | R-Freshman | 15 |
| 16 | Diego Pavia | Vanderbilt | Senior | 16 |
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