Wisconsin's Graham Mertz named top-10 breakout quarterback candidate

Graham Mertz returns to Wisconsin after a historic season saw him become the first freshman quarterback to start the Badgers season opener since 1978. Poised for a big season as a redshirt sophomore, Mertz was named a top-10 breakout quarterback candidate for the season by Pro Football Focus.

Mertz redshirted his first year at Wisconsin, appearing in just two games as a backup and completing nine of ten passes for 73 yards. In 2020, his redshirt freshman year, Mertz started all seven of the Badgers’ games at quarterback and broke a record as early as the season opener: He completed 20 of his 21 passing attempts against Illinois — including 17-straight completions to start the game — throwing for 248 yards and five touchdowns, tying the highest single-game total in program history. His .952 completion percentage in the season opener was the highest single-game completion percentage in Wisconsin history.

That game alone was enough to break records at Pro Football Focus as well. Mertz didn’t throw a single uncatchable ball, per Anthony Treash, and threw three big-time throws all while earning a 93.9 passing grade.

He proceeded to slow down though, in part due to injury, but still led Wisconsin to a 4-3 overall record after finishing the season with a .608 completion percentage (118-of-194 passes), coupled with 1,220 yards and nine touchdowns. Mertz’s 277.1 passer efficiency rating last year was the third-highest in Wisconsin school history, and the rookie campaign concluded with one passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, a game in which Wisconsin emerged the victors over Wake Forest.

“Then everything went south,” Pro Football Focus says of his performance after the historic season opener. “Mertz reportedly suffered a shoulder injury in his very next game but played through it, which partly explains why he earned a poor 53.4 passing grade over his last five games. Only time will tell how much that injury affected him, but that first game tells us all we need to know about his ceiling.”

Wisconsin opens its season at home against Penn State on Sept. 4, where Mertz will presumably operate in full-health once again.

Mertz was formerly a four-star recruit by most outlets after a decorated four-year high school career at Blue Valley North. The Overland Park, Kansas native was an all-state selection in both his junior and senior seasons, and he even added a 2018 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year award to his resume after finishing his senior season with a 61.1 completion percentage, 3,886 passing yards and a state-record 51 passing touchdowns, coupled with 267 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.