The Gator Nation received what might be the worst possible news on Monday morning. According to 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz, Florida’s starting quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] will miss the remainder of the 2024 season with an apparent knee injury.
No further details regarding the issue have been released yet.
The injury came on a non-contact event after throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass in the middle of the third quarter against the Tennessee Volunteers last Saturday. True freshman backup [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] took over the play-calling duties from there, rallying the Orange and Blue to a last-minute touchdown that forced overtime before sputtering out.
Read more: Napier discusses Mertz’s season-ending injury
Up until the injury, Mertz had completed 72 of 95 attempts for a 76.6% average along with 791 yards and six touchdowns against two interceptions in 2024. The redshirt senior still maintains the best completion percentage among all 134 FBS schools this fall.
For his career in Gainesville, the former Wisconsin Badger has completed 333 of 452 pass attempts for a total of 3,694 yards along with 26 touchdowns and just five interceptions; his passer rating for his two years with the Gators was an impressive 159.1.
Lagway, the most recent Gatorade National Football Player of the Year recipient, will presumably assume the duties under center for the remainder of the season. The young gun from Willis, Texas, has completed 47 of 72 pass attempts for 765 yards, along with five touchdowns and four interceptions.
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