Graham Mertz displays toughness, potential in Week 1 against Utah

The Florida Gators didn’t start off the 2023 season the way they wanted to, falling to Utah 24-11 on the road Thursday night. But they may have found their quarterback for the remainder of the season in new trasnfer portal addition Graham Mertz.

Obviously, Mertz wasn’t able to lead the Gators to a Week 1 victory versus the Utes like they accomplished last season. But GatorsOnline’s Nick de la Torre spoke with On3’s Andy Staples about why he liked what he saw from Florida’s new QB1.

“He’s a tough son of a gun Andy,” de la Torre said. “There was that one first down, he ran, he got clobbered, kind of had to peel himself up. There was some ‘look out’ blocks from his offensive tackles throughout the game and he wouldn’t throw his offensive line under the bus, he said I could’ve gotten better protection, I could’ve gotten the checks, and I could’ve done this. And I was like you don’t need to throw your offensive line under the bus, you’re going to watch film tomorrow and that will do it for you.”

Mertz was under constant pressure from Utah’s defense, sacked five times on Friday. But he still managed to finish the game 333 yards and a touchdown, completing 70.5% of his passes on the night and throwing just one interception, which was the result of a bobbled pass by wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.

He also had to combat the Gators struggling on the ground and having a limited rushing attack, running for a disappointing 13 yards on the ground against Utah. With de la Torre believing he’s shown immense growth from his arrival in Gainesville to his first game with the Gators.

“I was impressed with Graham as he’s gone, I was very underwhelmed in the spring. As he got more comfortable with the playbook I think he knows who he is. He’s not afraid to throw a check down, where Anthony Richardson might have tried to run 90 miles an hour, or throw a ball 90 miles an hour into a tight window,” de la Torre explained. “So I was impressed with Graham, I think he is a leader. I think the team kind of looks to him and that’s credit to him for doing that in such a short period of time.”

He may not have quite the athleticism as Florida’s former quarterback, and not many do, but he did display a strong foundation and level of toughness that could propel the team’s offense this season. Which will be truly be seen if his offensive line and playmakers step up around him.

“I don’t think he’s going to lose you many games, I also don’t know if he’s going to win you games by throwing the ball 40, 35 times a game. So I think Graham Mertz is a game manager, that shouldn’t be a dirty word when we’re talking about quarterbacks anymore, and he can win Florida games. But he’s going to need help from the guys around him,” de la Torre said.

The Gators’ offense should look a lot more efficient in Week 2 with Mertz under center, as they face McNeese State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET in a game airing on ESPNU.