Graham Mertz, DJ Lagway QB decision: Billy Napier updates practice role for each signal-caller

Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway both practice with the first and second teams at Wednesday’s practice, Florida coach Billy Napier revealed. Mertz started the season opener against Miami but suffered a concussion that caused him to miss Week 2.

Lagway started in his place and threw for 456 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-7 win against Samford. It has been reported that Mertz is still working to clear the concussion protocol ahead of Saturday’s SEC opener against Texas A&M.

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Even if Mertz is healthy, there was been some discussion as to whether Lagway earned the right to start with his performance this past weekend. He is a true freshman who ranked as the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Mertz, on the other hand, brings experience as he was the starting QB for the Gators all of last season. He finished with 2,903 yards and 20 touchdowns to three interceptions.

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There was a lot of excitement for Mertz entering the season and it seems unfortunate that an injury could cost him the starting job. However, it’s worth noting that he struggled during the time he played in Week 1. The QB had just 91 yards and an interception upon leaving during the third quarter with Florida trailing 31-10.

Fans will certainly be waiting with great anticipation to see who the Gators roll out against the Aggies. Kick time for that contest is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

J.D. PicKell makes case for Graham Mertz to start over DJ Lagway vs. Texas A&M

With both quarterbacks having started a game already through two games, Florida has a quarterback question between Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway. Even so, On3’s J.D. PicKell has a thought of which one is the answer for the Gators.

PicKell assessed the pick at the position for Florida this weekend during ‘The Hard Count’ on Tuesday. He gets that most fans prefer Lagway but he himself is under the assumption that it’ll be Mertz.

“Here’s the main storyline of this game – who’s playing quarterback for Florida?” asked PicKell. “There’s a lot of folks that think that it’s DJ Lagway. A lot of folks that think it should be the true freshman in DJ Lagway.”

“I spoke to someone that is close to Florida yesterday and he didn’t have a definitive take on this. He just said that he would be wildly surprised if Graham Mertz isn’t the starter,” PicKell noted. “I’m going to take his word for it. I’m going to break this game down as if Graham Mertz is the starting quarterback.”

On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this report.