Graham Mertz: ‘Absolute, full support’ for Billy Napier to keep job
After Florida fell 33-20 to Texas A&M on Saturday, countless fans called on Florida’s administration to fire head coach Billy Napier. Instead of turning on Napier, quarterback Graham Mertz defended his head coach after the loss.
“He has my absolute full support,” Mertz said. “I’ve never seen somebody prep the way that we prep, prepare the way we prepare. We have a great plan going into every game. I know everybody in the locker room trusts Coach with everything we got.
“Honestly, it’s up to us and what we do during the week, what we do during the game. Are you playing with heart or are you not? And I think that’s where us, as a team, we need to come together, and the players need to — we need to play the ball that we know we can play.”
In the loss, Graham Mertz completed 12-of-his-15 pass attempts for 195 yards and a touchdown while also throwing one interception. Mertz alternated drives with freshman QB DJ Lagway, who many fans wanted to become Florida’s full-time starter after he led the Gators to a 45-7 win over Samford in Week 2.
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Nonetheless, Lagway was far from perfect against the Aggies. The former five-star prospect only connected on 6-of-his-13 pass attempts for 54 yards and a touchdown while recording two interceptions.
Of course, Florida’s quarterbacks weren’t solely responsible for the loss. The Aggies routed the Gators’ defense, tallying 488 total yards without committing a turnover. Texas A&M boasted 310 yards in the ground game alone.
Mertz believes everybody on the team must step up and perform to their potential.
“We have so many resources during the week that we prep, and our coaches are fantastic,” Mertz said. “We need to do a better job as players of putting ourselves in the right position and executing. But no, [Napier] has my absolute full trust.
“You’re not in the building every day. You don’t see what we do every day. But, as somebody that has been in there for what a year, almost two years, there’s nobody I’d rather play for.”
It won’t be easy for Florida to turn its season around. According to most metrics, the Gators have the strongest schedule in the country, with foes such as No. 6 Tennessee, No. 2 Georgia, No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Ole Miss still ahead.
For now, Billy Napier and Co. can only focus on the upcoming week. On Saturday, Florida will square off against Mississippi State at noon ET. The game will air live on ESPN.