When Wisconsin secured a commitment from Graham Mertz back in 2019, many, myself included thought the Badgers had finally found the quarterback capable of getting them over the proverbial hump.
The high-school All-American had committed to Wisconsin over the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, and Notre Dame. It was a massive recruiting win for the Badgers to have identified Mertz early in the process and beat out some of the biggest programs in college football for his services.
Per 247 sports, he was the 3rd ranked quarterback in his class, and the 65th ranked player in the entire nation. This made Mertz the highest rated quarterback recruit in school history, so expectations were understandably sky high.
Now, two years into Mertz being the QB1 for the Wisconsin Badgers, we’ve reached a point as a fan-base where we have just as many questions as we have answers about his ability to lead this team.
The Kansas native has started the last 20 games under center for the Badgers, and compiled an uninspiring 13-7 record by Wisconsin’s standards. Mertz has completed just over 60% of his passes for 3,269 yards with 19 touchdowns and 16 interceptions during his three seasons at UW.
It’s not fair to put all of the recent shortcomings of the program on Mertz, however, his uneven play has certainly played a role in the Badgers underachieving these last two seasons.
For a program predicated on its dominant run game and attacking defense, ball security is a must for a team like Wisconsin. When they fail to protect the ball, they’re not a team that’s well built to come from behind.
This past season
As a red shirt-sophomore Mertz underwhelmed, completing just 59.5% of his passes for 1,958 yards with 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
As a result, Wisconsin’s offense ranked 120th in passing offense (160.2 yards per game), 105th in passing efficiency (120.70), and 83rd in yards per completion (11.76).
That’s rather lackluster for a team that needs to rely on its passing game to be efficient enough to keep opposing defenses honest, and prevent them from stacking the box.
Early in the season Mertz struggled mightily under duress, resulting in sloppy footwork, inaccuracy, and too often staring down his first read. The second year starters inability to go through his progressions, coupled with the hesitancy to make the correct reads kept the offense in neutral at times throughout the season.
He did however put together some of his best football after the offensive line settled in and began playing more cohesively. Mertz was able to operate more comfortably from the pocket and deliver a clean ball when he wasn’t flushed out and forced to improvise.
Graham Mertz and the high powered Wisconsin offense pic.twitter.com/QnVXjV5sLP
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 2, 2021
During Wisconsin’s last six games, Mertz threw eight touchdowns and four interceptions, showing significant improvement from the beginning of the season. This was a highly encouraging sign from the third-year signal caller, and can hopefully roll that momentum into spring practice.
What’s The Verdict?
Mertz will be entering his fourth season with the program, and the potential is certainly there, but Wisconsin needs more out of their QB1.
I find it highly unlikely that any quarterback currently on the roster (Wolf, Hill, Burkett) can push him for the starting spot given their lack of experience, or in Wolf’s case lack of production when given opportunity.
Unless Wisconsin lands a high-profile transfer quarterback, it’ll be Mertz running the show for a third consecutive season. The Kansas native has an abundance of talent, but we’re at a point where flashes aren’t going to be enough for Wisconsin to compete for a Big Ten championship.
Mertz will need to take better care of the football and be closer to the game managing quarterbacks of years past if the Badgers are going to contend in the west next season. Anything more would just be an added bonus.
It may be an unpopular opinion, but I still contend that Mertz can be a good quarterback at Wisconsin. Perhaps even a really good one before he graduates, but he’ll need to step up and take control of the offense this upcoming season.
I expect he’ll become a top half of the Big Ten quarterback, and have Wisconsin in contention to win the West.
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