Tag: Graham Mertz

Top photos from Florida’s appearance at 2024 SEC media days

Get a gander at the Gators at SEC media days on Wednesday.

Florida football was represented by head coach Billy Napier, along with linebacker Shemar James, running back Montrell Johnson Jr. and quarterback Graham Mertz at SEC media days 2024 on Wednesday. The Gators quartet each took time to speak with the press and share their thoughts on the upcoming season.

Together, they answered hundreds of questions from the media. They rode a (fake) Longhorn. They took turns playing EA College Football 25 in their holding room, with Mertz battling UF Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel in a spirited back and forth.

Below is a look highlights from each person’s turn at SEC media days 2024.

 

CBS Sports explains why you should pick Florida in College Football 25

Brad Crawford prefers to the Florida Gators on College Football 25 with a true freshman under center.

EA Sports College Football 25 was released on Monday to those who ordered the deluxe version of the game or have an EA Play membership, giving the world an early view of the highly-anticipated video game.

The sports media has pounced on the topic since its 4 p.m. ET release and many have already expressed their excitement after playing the first update to the game in over a decade. CBS Sports had its staff try out all 134 teams featured in EA Sports’ latest offering, with Brad Crawford drawing the Southeastern Conference.

That includes the Florida Gators — a program that he decided to mix things up under center to see what the squad can do on offense.

“We’re not downing [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] here, but go ahead and rip the band-aid off in Gainesville with a freshman starter at quarterback and see what you can get out of five-star [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag],” Crawford said. “Throw it to wideout [autotag]Eugene Wilson[/autotag], who might be the SEC’s best-kept secret.

According to the in-game ratings, Mertz is valued at 84 while Lagway gets an 80 rating in his true freshman year. Wilson earns an 86 rating, but do not sleep on incoming transfer [autotag]Elijhah Badger[/autotag], who earned an 85 rating.

Running back [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag] and offensive lineman [autotag]Jake Slaughter[/autotag] hold the best rating on the offensive side of the ball at 87.

Player ratings for Gators’ roster in EA Sports College Football 25

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

These 3 Gators will represent Florida at SEC Media Days 2024

Shemar James, Montrell Johnson Jr. and Graham Mertz join Billy Napier next week in Dallas, Texas.

Florida football will be represented by a trio of players at this summer’s SEC media days held in Dallas, Texas, at the Omni Hotel next week.

Junior linebacker [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag], senior running back [autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]. and quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] are the three players who will travel to the Lone Star State along with head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]. The quartet will take the stage on Wednesday at 1:45 p.m. ET — the same day as the Alabama Crimson Tide, Mississippi State Bulldogs and Texas Longhorns.

The Gators and Longhorns are scheduled during the same afternoon rotation block. The SEC Network will provide national coverage of the four-day event.

2024 SEC FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS SCHEDULE

MONDAY, July 15
LSU – Brian Kelly
Ole Miss – Lane Kiffin
South Carolina – Shane Beamer
Vanderbilt – Clark Lea

TUESDAY, July 16
Georgia – Kirby Smart
Missouri – Eliah Drinkwitz
Oklahoma – Brent Venables
Tennessee – Josh Heupel

WEDNESDAY, July 17
Alabama – Kalen DeBoer
Florida – Billy Napier
Mississippi State – Jeff Lebby
Texas – Steve Sarkisian

THURSDAY, July 18
Arkansas – Sam Pittman
Auburn – Hugh Freeze
Kentucky – Mark Stoops
Texas A&M – Mike Elko

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida’s redshirt senior QB self-evaluates for 2025 NFL draft

Mertz offered some insight into what he has been working on this offseason as well as his progress from a physical standpoint. 

The 2025 NFL draft is still far away with an entire college football season to be played before the annual event. However, plenty of players are already eyeing next April as they look to close out their collegiate careers on the highest note possible.

The Athletic senior writer Larry Holder spoke with a handful of quarterbacks at the Manning Passing Academy about their respective outlooks for the amateur draft next spring. Among those who offered their self-evaluation was Florida’s [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag], a redshirt senior whose eligibility expires this fall after two years in Gainesville.

Mertz offered some insight into what he has been working on this offseason as well as his progress from a physical standpoint.

What Mertz is working on this offseason

“I was there (at Florida) last year, so I got a year in my belt,” Mertz begins.

“I think one thing that we are blessed with is the system we have in Florida. I think as a new player, it forced you to really catch on quickly. And that was one thing that I really benefited from, just the structure of it.

“So for me right now, we’ve got a lot of new guys. We got guys coming back that were young last year. So how do we maximize our time? How do we get a little bit better every day? And how do we keep that focus and that urgency in what we do?

“For me, you know what you’re going to do, you know how to do it. How do you get everybody to buy into that? You truly move as one.

“So for me, it’s waking up every day — how do we truly move as one towards that goal, because obviously we weren’t satisfied with last year.”

What Mertz is working on physically

“I think a big thing for me, I’ve been in college for six years — you always bench, you squat, you clean, you try to get fast, you try to get a little bit faster, you work on mobility — but for me, it’s finding new ways to attack it and embracing new things and trying to open my mind to change in some areas,” Mertz notes.

“Trying to just get, like I said to the other guys, just get a little bit better every day. It’s trying new things to either add to my routine or subtract another thing from my routine.”

Florida’s 2024 season opener

The Florida and the Miami Hurricanes open their schedule on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida. Kickoff time is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Gators’ Graham Mertz barely a top-10 SEC quarterback

Throwing the ball downfield successfully is the key to Graham Mertz’ success at Florida this fall.

The Southeastern Conference is one of the most talented collections of talent in college football, especially now that the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns have joined the league.

That plethora of potential extends to the quarterback position, where the SEC has some of the best signal-callers in the country. Among them is Florida’s [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag], who was one of the most efficient passers in the game last season.

On3’s Clark Brooks recently ranked the conference’s quarterbacks from top to bottom, with the Gators’ incumbent QB coming in at No. 10 out of 16 total passers, behind Texas A&M Aggie Connor Weigman and ahead of Kentucky Wildcat Brock Vandagriff.

“Mertz MUST get better as a downfield thrower,” Brooks begins. “Just has to. Not good at it in back-to-back years and this past season he had the worst uncatchable percentage past 15 yards in the SEC. But his pocket roll has improved. Still a tad gunshy bailing from pockets and leaning on his dominant side. But sneakily great versus pressure.”

Brooks continues, pointing out that downfield courage is crucial for Mertz’s success.

“And while there’s no guarantee that will continue, that’s a top selling point this off-season. One of the best caretakers in college football eliminating mistakes. But passes up things far too often for surefire completions. Looks the part, has tools, but can he put it all together? Jayden Daniels gained courage throwing downfield after years of hesitancy and look what happened.”

Florida’s 2024 season opener

The Florida and Miami open their schedule on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida. Kickoff time is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida’s incumbent starting QB talks college transfer portal

How wild is it that transferring is more of the norm? Florida’s Graham Mertz talks about what he’s seen from the NCAA transfer portal.

The NCAA transfer portal has changed the collegiate landscape in ways that most could not have imagined, creating a de facto free agency system that has turned both major and minor sports upside down. This has created a completely different environment for programs to deal with in building their respective rosters.

The Athletic’s Larry Holder recently spoke with some of the top quarterbacks in college football, who were participating in the Manning Passing Academy, all of whom had transferred at least once since leaving high school. Florida’s incumbent starting QB [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] was among the respondents who shared their thoughts with Holder on how things have changed over the last half-decade.

The difficulty of leaving the first program

“You never want to turn your back on a place that you committed to out of high school,” Mertz begins.

“And I’m in a little bit (of a) different area, because I came into college before NIL, before transfer portal. So I kind of saw it like in the old days. So for me going through and seeing the changes, it’s interesting because you see guys enter the portal and there’s plenty of different reasons. And I think just if that’s your decision, it needs to be a decision that’s best for your career.”

The redshirt senior continued by pointing out the complexity of such a decision.

“You never want to see somebody leave your team. But it always comes down to fit — how do they fit in the offense or the defense? So there’s a lot of layers to it that makes it really complicated.”

Mertz talks about leaving Wisconsin

“It wasn’t fun to leave. Me leaving Wisconsin, I never wanted to leave. But you have a coaching change. You’re at the end of your college career. You want to find out — like, for me — you want to find out who your OC (offensive coordinator) is going to be.

“You want to know, and that was kind of what led me to that decision. But it wasn’t easy. And the portal, now you’ve got 18 days to make a decision. So yeah, that’s becoming the norm.”

Florida’s 2024 season opener

The Florida and Miami open their schedule on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida. Kickoff time is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Evaluating Florida football in reimagined Southeastern Conference

The Athletic gives its take on Florida’s status now that the SEC has officially expanded to 16 schools.

July 1 marked the date that the Southeastern Conference officially expanded to 16 teams, adding the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns — two storied institutions in multiple sports — to an already packed roster of member schools.

The expansion of the SEC represents another step toward a new world order of sorts for college football, and the Florida Gators are definitely experiencing those winds of change. One of five conference programs to have won a national title in the last 20 years, during which time the SEC took home 13 of the 20 championship trophies, things are off to a tough start for the Orange and Blue.

“Is this the toughest schedule in the modern era of college football? A case could be made,” The Athletic’s Kennington Smith III begins. “Am I betting on Florida to surpass its 4.5 over/under win total (BetMGM)? Yes, I am.”

Silver linings for Florida

“It has been a tough start with the Gators for [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag], but talent acquisition hasn’t been the issue: Florida’s 63% blue-chip rate according to Bud Elliott is 11th nationally and higher than every team on the Gators’ schedule except for Georgia, Texas and LSU,” Smith offers.

Gators are in good hands with Graham Mertz

“There are good pieces: Quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] completed 72.3 percent of his passes with just three turnovers a season ago, running back [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag] is the second-leading returning rusher in the SEC, and the Gators signed the No. 5 transfer portal class.”

It all starts with Game 1

“Early swing games could determine Florida’s season. Miami (Week 1) is a talented but underachieving program. The Gators open SEC play with Texas A&M (Week 3) and Mississippi State (Week 4) under first-year coaches. Central Florida (Week 5) should be improved, but that’s certainly a winnable game.

“Tennessee is Week 6, but that’s a series Florida has dominated recently. Napier’s seat is pretty warm for July, but some early wins could cool it off.”

Florida’s 2024 season opener

The Florida and Miami open their schedule on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida. Kickoff time is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

The Athletic picks pair of X-factor players for Florida football this fall

Mertz and Wilson are the Florida Gators’ cornerstone players on offense this coming season.

The Florida football program has a challenging season ahead of it, facing one of the toughest schedules in the sport this fall. The Gators will require some outstanding play from its cornerstone pieces if they want to earn a bowl game bid this coming winter.

The Athletic’s college football staff put together a list of X-factor players for all 16 Southeastern Conference teams, with two names coming up for the Orange and Blue.

“There are more questions about Florida on defense than offense, so for the Gators to be successful this year, they may need to win some shootouts,” Seth Emerson begins.

“Quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] can do that if he has help, and wideout [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag] could emerge as a potent weapon. As a freshman, he had 61 catches for 538 yards and six touchdowns. He was a four-star recruit who has speed and dynamic ability, and he can make the Gators offense a tough out.”

Florida’s 2024 season opener

The Florida and the Miami Hurricanes open their schedule on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida. Kickoff time is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida QB Graham Mertz enjoying time as counselor at Manning Passing Academy

“I think the Gator fans are going to love what they see.”

Florida quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] is one of nearly 50 camp counselors at the Manning Passing Academy this week, and he’s soaking in the experience as much as he can.

The event began on Thursday and runs through Sunday. Mertz spoke with the media on Friday.

“It’s been so fun,” Mertz said “For me, it’s being able to pick pretty much everybody’s brain, whether it’s a college guy or a Manning, literally anybody here. Just ask questions, be a sponge and soak everything in.”

Mertz never joined the Manning Passing Academy while in high school, but did participate in other camps with college counselors. He called it a blessing to finally make it to the Academy.

A full list of counselors can be found in the Camp Guide on the Academy’s homepage.

Mertz calls 2024 Florida Gators ‘special’

The Florida quarterback also offered his thoughts on the upcoming season for the Gators, acknowledging that last year’s 5-7 finish left much to be desired. Despite facing what amounts to the nation’s toughest schedule in 2024, Mertz thinks this team could surprise a few.

“I think the Gator fans are going to love what they see. We’ve got depth – added a bunch of new guys on both sides of the ball, experienced guys. But across the board, the amount of depth we have is different than last year. I’m always optimistic about every season, but I think we have a special team.”

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Gators, Billy Napier among those under most pressure to win in 2024

Unsurprisingly, the heat is on Billy Napier and the Gators this fall.

The Gator Nation has been damned to a doldrums of three-straight losing seasons this decade — the first time that has happened since the 1940s — and the current outlook is not looking too promising.

Florida football enters the 2024 campaign with possibly the hardest strength of schedule in the nation and the prognostications are calling for a .500 finish to the regular season… at best. The fact of the matter is that it will take a minor miracle for the Orange and Blue to win six games this fall, but they play the matchups on the field not on paper.

Pro Football Focus college football analyst Mitch Kaiser published a list of five collegiate programs under the most pressure, which was headlined by the denizens of the Swamp.

Billy Napier on the hot seat

“There might not be a head coach on a hotter seat than [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag],” Kaiser begins.

“Whether expectations have been fair or not, Napier’s teams haven’t lived up to their preseason hype in his first two years at Florida. The Gators have gone 11-14 in his tenure and finished with a disappointing 0.067 EPA per play in 2023, which ranked 41st in the country.”

Florida’s strength of schedule

“The 2024 season will present an incredible challenge for the Gators, who may have the hardest schedule in college football, going through the normal SEC gauntlet in addition to facing Miami, UCF and Florida State. Winning six games could be a significant challenge.”

PFF has Florida’s strength of schedule ranked second-hardest in the nation and expects it to finish with a 5-7 record.

Graham Mertz and the Florida offense

“Florida has the talent to exceed expectations, though, with quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] coming back after a breakout season (77.9 PFF passing grade). [autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag], both of whom earned 80.0-plus PFF overall grades, are two top weapons looking to build on big years, as well.”

Gators’ improvements on defense

“Defensively, the Gators will need improvements out of cornerstone secondary pieces [autotag]Jordan Castell[/autotag] and [autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]. Each recorded three pass breakups in 2023, which leads all returning defenders on the roster.

“If Napier can develop his players the same way he did at Louisiana, he will undoubtedly bring Florida back to relevance before long.”

Florida’s 2024 season opener

The Florida and the Miami Hurricanes open their schedule on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida. Kickoff time is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.