Urban Meyer says Florida's quarterback decision will dictate success in SEC East

Florida is coming off its second straight 6-7 season, desperate to get back to its winning ways atop the SEC East. And one man who Florida fans are plenty familiar with believes it’ll come down to the quarterback decision.

The Gators are losing a quarterback that most prognosticators have going in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft.

“When you see a quarterback, Anthony Richardson, at 55% completion percentage and he goes to the NFL, he’s so talented,” former Florida coach Urban Meyer said. “Dan Mullen coached and recruited him, said he has more talent than Cam Newton.”

Meyer made those comments on The Hard Count with JD PicKell, where he expanded on his take on the program’s quarterback situation.

It’s been a while since the Gators haven’t had a talented quarterback to turn things over to, though there was a quarterback decision in 2021 that caused some consternation. Prior to Richardson’s stint as the starter last year, Florida enjoyed two years with Kyle Trask running the show.

Trask turned himself into a second-round NFL Draft pick and a Heisman Trophy finalist.

Does Florida have that kind of quarterback on the roster this fall? If so, it’s likely coming from the transfer ranks.

“It’s going to come down to who’s going to play quarterback,” Meyer told PicKell. “They’ve got Graham Mertz, Jack Miller. I think they’re going to be swinging away at this thing. Are they good enough to take the Gators?

“Because once again, the SEC East now, the Gators used to dominate that thing or used to be the No. 1 team. Now it’s hard to say. They might be No. 3. South Carolina‘s really coming along, too, Kentucky‘s good. The SEC East is a tough division.”

Mertz arrives via the transfer portal by way of Wisconsin, where he went 460-of-773 for 5,405 yards and 38 touchdowns against 26 interceptions.

Miller also arrived at Florida from the transfer portal, jumping from Ohio State. He was with the Gators last season, though a thumb injury limited his playing time. He finished his first season at Florida 13-of-22 passing for 180 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Meyer still follows the Florida program with great interest, having a house in the state for the winter months. He knows the quarterback decision is going to be heavily scrutinized.

He’s also pulling for Florida, in part because he likes second-year coach Billy Napier.

“I’m a fan of Napier, I like guys that have won at a lower level and then got promoted up, which he did,” Meyer said. “I’ve talked to him a couple times, I’m a Florida fan, I want to see him do well.”