Florida QB Graham Mertz to return for sixth season of college football

Graham Mertz will be back at Florida next season.

Mertz, a transfer quarterback from Wisconsin who had a strong season with the Gators, announced Thursday that he will return to Gainesville for his final year of eligibility. It will be Mertz’s sixth year of college football.

Mertz was a coveted class of 2019 recruit who redshirted his first season at Wisconsin and then became the starter in the 2020 season, which did not count toward the eligibility clock because of the pandemic.

From there, he played two more seasons at Wisconsin with up-and-down results as the Badgers struggled on offense. During the 2022 season, Wisconsin fired head coach Paul Chryst, who recruited Mertz to Madison.

After the season, Mertz decided to transfer and landed at Florida. The Gators and head coach Billy Napier were in need of a quarterback after Anthony Richardson left for the NFL Draft.

Mertz, despite his struggles in Madison, proved to be a good fit in Napier’s offense. For the season, Mertz threw for 2,903 yards, 20 touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 72.9% of his throws. The previous year at Wisconsin, Mertz threw for 2,136 yards and 19 touchdowns with 10 interceptions with a completion percentage of 57.3.

Mertz suffered a broken collarbone in Florida’s Week 12 loss to Missouri and missed the season finale vs. Florida State. The Gators, after a 5-2 start, ended up losing five straight down the stretch to finish 5-7 and miss a bowl game.

Florida is now 11-14 overall and 6-10 in SEC play in two seasons under Napier. The Gators have a very challenging 2024 schedule with Miami, UCF and Florida State in non-conference play and an SEC schedule that includes Texas A&M, LSU, Ole Miss and Kentucky at home, Tennessee, Texas and Mississippi State on the road and, of course, the neutral site game with Georgia in Jacksonville.