Florida football QB Graham Mertz on doubters: 'Want to prove each other right'

Florida football quarterback Graham Mertz understands the skepticism around the rest of the SEC as to whether UF can compete for a league title.

The Florida Gators are 11-14 in two seasons under head coach Billy Napier and lost five straight games to close the 2023 season.

But Mertz, one of 13 starters to return for Florida in 2024, said Wednesday on the Paul Finebaum Show that Florida can use the underdog role as fuel when the season starts this fall.

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"Nowadays everyone always likes to say prove the haters wrong," Mertz said on the SEC Network show. "And obviously the theme for this team is proving each other right. We know what we've got to do, we all want to win, everyone in this building wants to win. For us, we know what people are saying but we're here to prove each other right, we're here to scrap together and go win."

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Mertz, who cited unfinished business as his reason to return for his final year of eligibility, also re-iterated his faith in Napier's ability to lead and develop players. In year one as a starting quarterback under Napier, Mertz excelled, passing for 2,903 yards with 20 TDs to 3 interceptions while leading the SEC in completion percentage (72.9 percent).

"From day one when I got here, it's been urgency, it's been attention to detail," Mertz said. "There's not one detail that slips his mind and he's been locked in 24-7 and to me that's one of the things being a leader on this team, you see that, you see the standard set, this is the right way to do it, and this is the urgency to have to do it, from the top down, starting with him. He sets the tone every day."

Finebaum also asked about the strength of UF's schedule. The Gators open Aug. 31 in The Swamp against Miami and will play 11 of their 12 games this season against power four conference opponents, with other non-conference games against UCF and rival Florida State. UF's final five opponents (Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss and FSU), all finished in the top 13 of the College Football Playoff rankings to end last season.

"This is why you come to the SEC, this is why you play at Florida, for these matchups," Mertz said. "You want to play at the highest level against the greatest competition. We know what's ahead of us, we see it every day when we go out of the locker room and that excites us."

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football QB Graham Mertz says team primed for underdog role