Wisconsin transfer QB officially joins Florida Gators
A few weeks ago, reports came in of Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz’s transfer to the University of Florida. The school officially announced the move on Wednesday.
Mertz leaves the Badgers after three years starting under center for the program. He joined Wisconsin in 2019 and quickly took over as the starter during his second year with the team. During that time, Mertz totaled 5,405 yards, 38 touchdowns and 26 interceptions on 59.51% passing (460 completions on 773 attempts).
When Mertz joins the team in January, he’ll immediately enter a battle for the starting quarterback position with Jack Miller III, who started Florida’s bowl game against Oregon State. While Miller showed some promise in that game, it also became increasingly clear that Florida needed to add a quarterback with more starting experience. Behind those two will be redshirt freshman Max Brown and true freshman Jaden Rashada, who will join the team at the same time and fight for reps.
Be like Graham.
Welcome to Gator Nation, @GrahamMertz5!#GoGators | #D23AMTEAM pic.twitter.com/4JLfsrgpbz
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) December 28, 2022
Mertz’s 2021 performance left a lot to be desired with more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (10), but he bounced back last year with a 19-to-10 ratio. Florida is moving on from Anthony Richardson, who didn’t have the best completion percentage or touchdown-to-turnover ratio, so Billy Napier knows what he’s getting himself into.
Unlike Richardson, Mertz is a pocket passer who doesn’t run too often. He finished his Wisconsin career with minus-21 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 125 attempts.
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