Graham Mertz was the first Wisconsin Badgers players to enter the transfer portal following the hiring of Luke Fickell as the head coach. Mertz, of course, was the highest-rated quarterback to ever commit to the Wisconsin football program at the time he committed. In 34 games (32 starts) with the Badgers, Mertz threw for 5,405 yards, 38 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions. This past year, a year that saw Paul Chryst, who recruited Mertz to Wisconsin, fired, the former five-star quarterback threw for 2,136 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
Graham Mertz Committed to the Florida Gators
After being linked to both Kentucky and Notre Dame, Mertz finally committed to play for the Florida Gators. A recent report revealed that the Gators, who have had a plethora of off-field issues with their quarterbacks, studied 24 quarterbacks before setting their sights on Mertz. Jalen Kitna, the son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, was arrested and dismissed from the team. Marcus Stokes had committed to playing quarterback at Florida, but the university pulled its offer after a video surfaced of him using a racial slur. Anthony Richardson, the 2022 starter for the Gators, is leaving for the NFL. One-time commit Jaden Rashada decommitted from Florida following a failed NIL deal.
With so much negative publicity surrounding the position, Florida head coach Billy Napier and his staff wanted to make sure that they recruited a quarterback with experience and a strong work ethic. Shortly after Rashada signed on to play for Arizona State, Napier had the following to say about Mertz, who is a kind of replacement for Rashada within the program:
“We’re talking about a guy that’s started 32 games. He’s an experienced player. And I do believe that he’s got unique tools. When you go back all the way to his high school recruitment, he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the country. Close to 6-3, a little under 6-3. He’s 215 pounds.
“We’re getting an experienced player that’s got arm talent, that can process, and wanted to be at Florida. He has been fantastic. I think he has proven his work ethic, just observing him, hearing the other players talk about him, the work he’s done with our staff, not only strength and conditioning, but also every part: the training room, nutrition, film study. He’s done a great job so far. Certainly, the guy’s a very experienced player.”
Napier also said that he had a conversation with former Badgers head coach Paul Chryst about Mertz before deciding to recruit him.
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