How Graham Mertz is adjusting to new offense early in fall camp

Graham Mertz joined the Florida Gators this offseason through the transfer portal after spending the last four seasons at Wisconsin. He’ll be looking to help get Florida back to their winning ways following two straight six-win seasons, as Gators Online‘s Nick de la Torre spoke with Andy Staples about his progress during the Gators’ fall camp.

“I think Graham’s getting much better and I was very skeptical because all the teammates were saying he’s the first in last out. Well, this is a kid who spent three years in an offense and now has, what he would probably like, one more year before going to the NFL to learn a new scheme. He needs to be the first in and the last out,” de la Torre explained.

Between spring practice and fall camp, it’s apparent that Mertz has put in the work to better understand his new offensive scheme, something that wasn’t as clear when Mertz faced the Gators’ defense in the spring with a new defensive coordinator calling the shots in The Swamp.

“But I think his work ethic has made an impact on the coaching staff and the team, and I think you’re seeing Graham’s more comfortable now,” de la Torre said. “In the spring, especially the spring game, I think Austin Armstrong was out to show something with some of the defenses he was calling, which maybe didn’t play into Graham’s favor.”

During his career with the Badgers, Mertz threw for 5,405 yards and 38 touchdown passes. But de la Torre believes that he may not have to be Superman once he steps foot under center for the Gators in September.

“But I think he looks like he can be a game manager, they’re not going to ask Graham Mertz to be Kyle Trask, they’re not going to ask him to be Danny Wuerffel,” de la Torre said. “You’ve got three unbelievably talented running backs, an offensive line which if can stay healthy should be able to block for you, and Graham just needs to make those short, intermediate passes to keep defenses honest. If Florida’s running the ball the way I think they have the capability to, you’re going to get defenses sinking in, and then you can hit something up the seam and get them to back off.”

Mertz may be managing some games for the Gators this fall, but he’s also managed to separate himself from the pack in Florida’s quarterback competition this offseason. Which begs the question, who will be his backup?

“I think if you go out to practice, and we were finally able to get a full practice, there’s a clear one, two, three. It’s Mertz, (Jack) Miller, and then Max Brown. But to me what does the backup situation look like if Graham Mertz goes down in the first quarter against Utah and breaks his ankle and he’s gonna be gone for a long time?” de la Torre asked.

Everyone is hoping that Mertz will play a fully healthy season for the Gators free from injury. But if the unfortunate circumstance does arise, de la Torre believes that the redshirt freshman Brown could add an exciting wrinkle to the Gators’ offense that their other QBs cannot.

“I think you turn to Jack Miller and have some packages for Max Brown because has a running ability that’s not Anthony Richardson, but it’s more than Miller and Mertz and I think he can give you something else there. If Florida’s offense is just stalling I think Max Brown’s the guy you go to, not Jack Miller to try to inject some life or enthusiasm into it,” de la Torre said. ” So even though I think there’s a clear one, two, three, Max Brown’s athleticism and what he can bring to the table with is legs is vastly different than the other two options and I think that’s something we maybe see towards the end of the year.”

Hopefully, all of Florida’s quarterbacks will stay healthy for the entirety of the upcoming season. But their short-term future with Mertz along with the distant future with their current quarterback room and 2-2024 commit DJ Langway will definitely keep the Gators’ quarterback room topic of discussion.