Tag: Jack Miller III

Steve Spurrier comments on Florida’s 2023 quarterback situation

Spurrier commented on the Florida Gators’ QB room heading into 2023.

If there’s one person whose opinion on the Florida Gators quarterback situation holds weight, it’s Steve Spurrier’s.

On a recent episode of The Tailgate, the Head Ball Coach brought up a conversation he had with Shane Matthews, one of Spurrier’s former quarterbacks when he coached the Orange and Blue back in the 1990s. In that conversation, Matthews asked the HBC what he thought of the Gators’ quarterbacks room. His response was one only the most important figure in Florida football history could give.

Here is what the HBC said about the Gators’ current quarterbacks room.

“I was talking to Shane and he said, ‘I’m not sure we have a great quarterback right now,’”

“I said, Shane, they told me that when I took the Florida job back in ’90. You gotta find somebody and coach the heck out of him.”

To provide some context, the Florida quarterbacks room could be confused for a carousel over the last few months. 2022 starter Anthony Richardson will not be returning after declaring for the 2023 NFL draft. [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] was arrested and dismissed from the team. That left former Ohio State quarterback [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] to take the field for the Gators’ 30-3 Las Vegas Bowl loss to Oregon State.

[autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag], a five-star quarterback prospect from California, signed his letter of intent in December and was expected to arrive on campus after playing in the All-American Bowl in Orlando. After he did not arrive on campus, a national saga played out with a reported $13 million name, image, and likeness deal that fell through at the center. He was released from his letter of intent in January and has since enrolled at Arizona State.

Add in Wisconsin transfer [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag], and the Gators went from a quarterbacks room with a projected first-rounder and five-star prospect, to two former transfers and [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag], a former three-star prospect, as the only scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.

It seems like the Heisman Trophy winner and national championship-winning head coach is a believer in developing the talent you have on the roster. While head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is expected to add another quarterback to the roster via the transfer portal, Spurrier may get his wish for 2023.

Whoever is brought in from the portal, the 2023 starting job is expected to come down to Mertz and Miller, two players who will have all spring to earn the job.

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Billy Napier open to boosting quarterback room this spring

We’re not sure who it will be and where he will come from, but the Gators are in need of some help in the quarterback room.

What was once a promising quarterback room in Gainesville has fallen like a house of cards over the past couple of months following the arrest of freshman [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] on child pornography charges, 2023 commit [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag]’ rescinded scholarship offer after a video surfaced of him using a racial slur on social media, and the NIL fiasco that followed [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] saga.

Man, it has not been a fun time for the Gator Nation of late, especially with star quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] heading into the NFL draft despite still being a bit wet behind the ears.

Now that the 2023 recruiting cycle is officially over, head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and his army of staffers are now turning their attention to the college football transfer portal in hopes of finding another scholarship quarterback to help add some depth to a thin corps. Essentially, there is a job opportunity open under center and the next month or two will serve as auditions for the part.

“I think if there’s an opportunity, there’s a player that passes evaluation,” Napier said according to Swamp247, “we certainly would be in the market for another player there.”

The Gators have already started the search for a new signal-caller, first checking in on former LSU Tigers QB Walker Howard, a former four-star prospect out of Lafayette (Louisiana) St. Thomas More in 2022 who was buried on the Tigers’ depth chart last season. However, 247Sports’ sources suggest that Florida has garnered very little interest from the young quarterback.

Also mentioned was former Washington quarterback Sam Huard, who was ranked No. 12 overall, No. 3 among quarterbacks and No. 249 among all prospects according to the 247Sports composite coming out of high school. However, the legacy football player chose California Polytechnic State instead.

The Gators currently have Wisconsin Badgers transfer [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag], [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] (a former Ohio State Buckeyes transfer) and [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag] as the three scholarship passers on the roster. Time will tell if Napier and Co. can pull off the coup and bring another solid talent in to beef up the competition.

Arizona State lands former Florida QB signee Jaden Rashada

After being released from his national letter of intent, former Florida quarterback signee Jaden Rashada is headed to Arizona State.

Former Florida signee [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] has found a new home after being released from his national letter of intent in January.

Rashada, who is now on his third school of the 2023 cycle, will join the Arizona State Sun Devils, according to a tweet he sent out Wednesday morning. The Pittsburg, California, product looked at several schools closer to home, including Cal, Colorado, Texas Christian and Washington. He visited both ASU and TCU in January before quickly making his decision.

He’s expected to sign with the Sun Devils on national signing day, Feb. 1, which should officially conclude a wild recruitment. Once committed to Miami, Rashada shocked the college football scene by flipping to Florida in November. He signed with UF during the early signing period, but a reported $13 million name, image and likeness deal fell through before he ever enrolled in classes. That’s when Rashada asked to be released from his letter of intent and set off to find a new home.

In the end, perhaps Rashada wound up where he should be. He’ll still find success in the NIL market wherever he goes, and playing under the pressure of a $10 million-plus contract might have ruined him before he even got started in the Swamp. There’s also class of 2024 quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] to consider. The five-star recruit would be coming in a year after Rashada and competing with him after a year of G[autotag]raham Mertz[/autotag] or [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] as the starter.

With Arizona State, Rashada has a chance to compete for early playing time, especially if Notre Dame transfer Drew Pyne doesn’t take the step forward he needs to under first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham. The Sun Devils don’t need to rely on Rashada just yet, but he’s the third-highest-ranked commitment in the program’s history, so there should be some effort to get him on the field quickly.

The 247 Sports composite ranked Rashada No. 82 overall in the class of 2023 regardless of position and No. 7 among quarterbacks. The site’s individual rankings favor Rashada a bit more at No. 44 overall and No. 6 at his position.

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ESPN takes a look at Florida’s quarterback room in 2023

Is Graham Mertz the answer at Florida? That’s the question ESPN is asking as 2023 begins.

Is [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] really the answer at Florida?

That’s the question ESPN’s Alex Scarborough asked when tasked with picking the under-the-radar player worth keeping an eye on in 2023. Mertz transferred to UF from Wisconsin over the offseason after three years in the Big 10, and he seems like the betting favorite to start the season off as Florida’s starting quarterback.

Without [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] (more on him in a bit), Florida’s depth issue at the most important position on the field appears critical. Mertz is one of two quarterbacks on the roster with playing experience, the other being [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] who started for Florida against Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl. Miller didn’t seem ready to take over the starting role just yet, so Mertz might be in line to take over for the Gators in 2023.

He’s not entering an easy situation, though. Mertz has two years of eligibility left and didn’t exactly shine at Wisconsin. Gator Nation isn’t exactly jumping to watch another quarterback develop for a year, so there’s pressure for him to make the jump to elite very quickly.

“The former No. 1-ranked quarterback in the 2019 class played in a lot of games at Wisconsin and never quite lived up to the hype,” Scarborough wrote. “While a fresh start could do him a lot of good, he’s not exactly walking into an ideal situation in Gainesville.

The Florida fan base is unsettled after a disappointing debut season for head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag], who struggled to turn [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag]’s talent into touchdowns and wound up finishing 6-7 after a blowout loss to Oregon State.”

If Mertz can do what Richardson couldn’t — lead the team to a decent season — it will go down as one of the better offseason moves in the country, but there’s potential for disaster here too. If Florida doesn’t have a quarterback it can trust, defenses will quickly shift to shutting down the running game to force some passes.

The other Gator adjacent mentioned in ESPN’s 2023 breakdown of the game is Rashada. Andrea Adelson picked the former Gator signee as the freshman to watch this season purely because of the drama surrounding him over the past month. It’s too sexy of a story to not know the end, and some Florida booster could be privately humiliated if Rashada ends up being worth every bit of the reported $13 million deal that fell through.

Florida would be in a much better spot at quarterback if Rashada was on campus right now, but things played out the way they did and there’s nothing to do but move forward.

Is Graham Mertz the answer at Florida?

We’re about to find out.

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Florida football announces date for 2023 Orange and Blue Game

Mark your calendars! The Florida Gators have announced a date for the 2023 Orange and Blue Game.

The Florida Gators will play the annual Orange and Blue Game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Thursday, April 13, according to an announcement from the team.

Further details such as kickoff time, streaming and broadcast information and fan initiatives will be announced in the future, but 247Sports is citing the athletic department on a tentative 7 p.m. EDT start. This will be the second-straight season that Florida plays its spring game on a Thursday.

Billy Napier moved last year’s O&B Game to the Thursday before Easter so students could attend the game and travel home for the holiday. That conflict shouldn’t come up this year with Easter coming on April 9, but UF opted to schedule the game on a Thursday anyway.

The UAA announced an attendance of 45,000 at last year’s Orange and Blue Game, so there clearly isn’t a big problem moving the game up a few days from the traditional Saturday spot. There is an argument that more people wanted to get a first look at Napier as a first-year coach in 2022, but the team is facing a large amount of turnover ahead of 2023 and should still warrant attention.

[autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] dominated last season’s spring game, but this time it will be Wisconsin transfer [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] and [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] battling it out. Whoever performs better might wind up being Florida’s Day 1 starter in the fall.

Not everything that’s seen in the Orange and Blue Game sticks, though. Players opt to transfer after finding out their role on the team and getting some in-game action, and plenty of depth guys are getting looks during exhibitions like this.

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Gators adding former Auburn OC to staff as analyst

Billy Napier added an analyst with experience as an offensive coordinator in the SEC to his staff on Sunday.

Billy Napier added former Auburn offensive coordinator [autotag]Eric Kiesau[/autotag] to his staff on Sunday, according to Matt Zenitz of On3.

Kiesau will serve as an analyst for Napier’s Florida Gators. He spent the last two years working his way up from analyst to offensive coordinator with the Tigers but was fired along with several other staff members (including head coach Bryan Harsin) on Halloween. Napier is familiar with Kiesau from their time coaching at Alabama together in 2015 and obviously still sees value in him in a more minor position.

It’s too soon to tell how large of a role Kiesau will play, but he does have extensive experience calling plays for Boise State, Colorado, Fresno State and Washington in addition to Auburn. Napier was criticized at times during his first year for mismanaging time and playcalling, so Kiesau could help out there.

He’s also specialized in coaching quarterbacks in the past, so Kiesau could work with what is essentially a clean slate in the quarterbacks room. Wisconsin transfer [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] is just getting settled in Gainesville, and [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] has spent just a few weeks practicing as Florida’s starter after recovering from a thumb injury and taking over for [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag].

It is worth noting that Auburn’s passing game didn’t thrive while Kiesau was there. Instead, it was the rushing attack that led the way, and Florida has a solid foundation on the ground. Both [autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag] return after serving as one of the best backfield tandems in the game last year.

Kiesau certainly has a lot of talent to work with in Gainesville and is familiar with what it takes to win in the SEC.

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Gators getting major offensive piece back in 2023

He’s coming back for another year! Florida is getting wide receiver Ricky Pearsall back for the 2023 season.

The Florida Gators got a major piece of their offense back on Saturday as wide receiver [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] announced his return to the team for the 2023 season on Instagram.

Pearsall appeared in all 13 games for Florida and started 10 of those, mostly in the slot. He hauled in 33 receptions for 661 yards and five touchdowns and added another 113 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on eight attempts. With [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] headed to the pros, Pearsall should improve on those numbers in 2023 and serve as the leader of Florida’s wide receiver room.

Behind him will be Thai Independence CC transfer [autotag]Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman[/autotag] and true freshman [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag], which further highlights how badly Florida needed Pearsall to return.

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Pearsall, also a transfer, spent his three years at the collegiate level playing for Arizona State. He broke out as a junior and caught Billy Napier’s eye in the transfer portal. After four years, Pearsall could have opted to leave for the NFL, but another year in the SEC should boost his draft stock.

He won’t have [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] passing to him, but Florida has added former Wisconsin quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] and has [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] also competing for the job. [autotag]Xzavier Henderson[/autotag] will also get a fair share of targets out wide, but Pearsall should have a big year with Shorter out of the picture.

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Wisconsin transfer QB officially joins Florida Gators

The Gators are officially welcoming former Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz to the team.

A few weeks ago, reports came in of Wisconsin quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag]’s transfer to the University of Florida. The school officially announced the move on Wednesday.

Mertz leaves the Badgers after three years starting under center for the program. He joined Wisconsin in 2019 and quickly took over as the starter during his second year with the team. During that time, Mertz totaled 5,405 yards, 38 touchdowns and 26 interceptions on 59.51% passing (460 completions on 773 attempts).

When Mertz joins the team in January, he’ll immediately enter a battle for the starting quarterback position with [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag], who started Florida’s bowl game against Oregon State. While Miller showed some promise in that game, it also became increasingly clear that Florida needed to add a quarterback with more starting experience. Behind those two will be redshirt freshman [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag] and true freshman [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag], who will join the team at the same time and fight for reps.

Mertz’s 2021 performance left a lot to be desired with more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (10), but he bounced back last year with a 19-to-10 ratio. Florida is moving on from [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag], who didn’t have the best completion percentage or touchdown-to-turnover ratio, so Billy Napier knows what he’s getting himself into.

Unlike Richardson, Mertz is a pocket passer who doesn’t run too often. He finished his Wisconsin career with minus-21 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 125 attempts.

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Gators add IMG Academy QB as preferred walk-on

Billy Napier said that Florida was looking to add another quarterback to the roster, and he found his man at none other than IMG Academy.

Florida added another member to its recruiting class of 2023, three-star IMG Academy quarterback [autotag]Parker Leise[/autotag], who will join the team as a preferred walk-on.

Leise announced his commitment to the university on Christmas Eve via social media. The news comes just days after the early signing period closed during which Florida head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] indicated that the team would be seeking a fifth quarterback for the roster.

The Gators expect four scholarship quarterbacks to be on the roster next season: [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag], Wisconsin transfer [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag], redshirt freshman [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag] and true freshman [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag]. Leise is a pro-style quarterback who likes to stay in the pocket, which is different from most of the quarterbacks Napier likes to bring in.

Leise held offers from Butler, Kansas, Miami (Ohio) and Toledo among others but chose to take the PWO path and stay in Florida. IMG Academy, of course, is in Bradenton, but Leise hails from Prairie Village, Kansas, so beating out the Jayhawks is significant.

Although Leise had an up-and-down year at IMG, he has the physical tools to be successful at the collegiate level. Standing at 6-foot-2-inches and 215 pounds, he has the size most coaches want at the signal caller position. He’ll spend time with the scout team in hopes of developing his game for the future.

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Former Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz transferring to Florida

Florida landed a transfer portal quarterback from the Big Ten amidst all the early signing period chaos.

Amidst all the early signing period chaos, Florida landed a transfer portal quarterback on Wednesday, former Wisconsin Badger [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag], according to G. Allan Taylor of The Athletic.

Mertz spent three years as a starter for Wisconsin but failed to live up to some lofty expectations. He needed a fresh start and Florida provided the right amount of opportunity while raising his profile as an NFL draft piece. Mertz will immediately enter a quarterback battle with Ohio State transfer [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] who started just one game for the Gators during his first year in Gainesville.

Behind Miller is true freshman [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag]. Billy Napier simply needed more options at quarterback for the upcoming season and Mertz fits the bill. Well, not exactly. Mertz is far from the dual-threat Anthony Richardson was, and Napier has proven through his recruiting that he prefers a mobile quarterback. Miller has some legs, but Mertz has a negative rushing total over three years as a starter.

Mertz is a good stopgap for Billy Napier and Co., and he could easily declare for the draft after a year to make way for Rashada and [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag]. He certainly has the experience to win the starting job, even if his 38-to-26 touchdown-to-interception ratio in Wisconsin leaves something to be desired.

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