ESPN says Florida's quarterback plan is 'hampered' for 2023

Several SEC schools are still in the midst of determining their quarterbacks for next season. However, none have as much of an uphill climb in that area as Florida, at least in Andrea Adelson’s mind.

In a recent article on ESPN, Adelson broke down the Gator’s QB spot. She noted how the loss of Jaden Rashada, who ended up at Arizona State, really shifted their focus. That’s especially so after they lost Anthony Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts. That has placed even more strain upon Billy Napier to get the selection right with who they still have.

“There is no question losing five-star prospect Jaden Rashada, who left after an NIL deal reportedly fell through, has hampered the plan at quarterback,” wrote Adelson. “Rashada was supposed to be the future at the position after Anthony Richardson left school to enter the NFL Draft. His signing was hailed as a huge victory for Napier, until it became somewhat of an embarrassment.”

“Now, the long-term outlook must be adjusted,” Adelson continued. “The Gators do not have much depth between (Graham) Mertz, (Jack) Miller, and redshirt freshman Max Brown. (That) only puts more pressure on the staff to find somebody currently in the portal. Mertz has started 32 games but was never meant to be the long-term answer when he signed. Miller did not play well in the Las Vegas Bowl and Brown threw only four passes in the spring game.”

The Gators brought Mertz in from the transfer portal to fix this problem exactly. Over his four seasons at Wisconsin, he threw for just over 5,400 yards, 38 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions. He produced those numbers while posting a 67% career completion rate.

Still, to this point, neither he, Miller (36 pass attempts for 281 yards), or Brown have separated themselves in the room. If nothing else, that tells Adelson that Florida may be waiting for next season to see some top-notch quarterback play in The Swamp.

“If there is any good news, it’s that Florida already has a huge commitment from five-star QB DJ Lagway in the class of 2024,” said Adelson. “Now the Gators just have to hold on to him.”

Florida’s quarterbacks still have time to shift this narrative over the summer and heading into the fall. Even so, it seems she is just the latest person to have some doubts about the program being able to adequately fill Richardson’s void in 2023.