Steve Spurrier hints at Micah Leon getting playing time for Florida

Florida will go into the season needing to replace starting quarterback Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft. Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz has won the starting job, but the picture on who is backing him up is far less clear.

Ohio State transfer Jack Miller was the favorite to win that job, but he was limited in fall camp with tendinitis in his rotator cuff.

Redshirt freshman Max Brown had his moments in fall camp, but he might still be another year off from meaningful contributions. In the absence of Miller, though, another player began to make his mark in fall camp.

“Graham Mertz I guess is our starter right now,” said former Florida quarterback and coach Steve Spurrier in an interview with Inside The Gators. “I like the other kid that has come on, I think his last name is (Micah) Leon. He was like the third or so, but it seems like coach (Billy) Napier said, every time he’s in there the ball goes up and down the field a good way. So don’t be surprised if Leon doesn’t play some here real soon.”

Leon is a former walk-on at NC State, then he transferred to UConn as a scholarship player. He left UConn following the 2021 season and spent a year out of football.

Eventually he headed to Gainesville as a graduate transfer and preferred walk-on Florida quarterback, arriving on campus in January.

Since then he’s done nothing but impress.

“First of all, the guy is an experienced player, he’s played some football in the past,” coach Billy Napier said in fall camp. “Micah is a guy that wanted to go to graduate school at the University of Florida, had aspirations considering coaching to some degree.

“So a guy that brought a lot to that room, you know, and I think we are always looking for guys like him. Now, Micah has proved to be very effective. He’s smart, he’s a student of the game, guy throws a really good ball. And man these scrimmages he just moves the ball right down the field every time. Micah has done a really nice job and we’ve given him some reps and he’s made the most of those reps.”

Whether Leon can work his way onto the field this fall as the Florida quarterback remains to be seen. According to On3’s Nick de la Torre, Miller is expected to return from his injury shortly.

In any case, it’s another player worth keeping an eye on in the Florida backfield. Usually when Steve Spurrier is impressed with a player there’s something there.