The best offenses in college football are explosive. Out of the top ten teams in total offense in 2023, nine of them ranked inside the top 10 in total plays of 20 yards or more. The same is true for 30+ yards. Six of those teams ranked inside the top 10 in plays of 40 yards or more.
Florida did not fare well with explosive plays in 2023, ranking 56th in 20+ yards plays, 90th in 30+ yard plays, and 104th in 40+ yard plays.
Diving a little deeper, the Gators’ problem was specifically in the vertical passing game as Florida ranked 2nd in the SEC in explosive run play percentage, trailing only LSU according to SEC Stat Cat.
Florida was generating an explosive passing play on just 9.71% of their attempts, which ranked 9th in the SEC in 2023.
Mertz, a transfer quarterback from Wisconsin, completed just 16 passes that traveled 20+ yards downfield, recording five touchdowns and zero interceptions on deep balls. For comparison, Jayden Daniels, the Heisman winning QB from LSU, completed 35 passes that traveled 20+ yards downfield, logging 22 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
“We are trying to get Graham to be more aggressive without being careless,” head coach Billy Napier told the media during spring camp. “I think the narrative on him coming in, obviously everybody talked about the interceptions at Wisconsin and all that. He proved that he could play clean ball last year and then I think now it’s about trying to improve the calculated risk, let’s try to be aggressive and manage the game and eliminate careless play, but let’s try to go create more explosives and distribute the ball, be the point guard and push the ball down the court.”
Mertz did a tremendous job of taking care of the football in 2023, posting a turnover worthy play rate of 5.39%, which ranks 2nd in the SEC among players with 120+ passing attempts, according to SEC Stat Cat. However, his average depth of target was just 6.78 yards, which ranked dead last in the SEC and nearly a full yard behind Spencer Rattler, who ranked 2nd to last.
After talking with WR coach Billy Gonzales, the goal for his unit is to record five catches of 20 yards or more in a game. If Florida is able to average five catches of 20+ yards in 2024, they would record the same number of explosive plays as they did last season without including Florida’s running game, which has been explosive under Billy Napier.
“I’ve always expressed explosives with my room. I’ve always talked about five big plus-plays of 20 yards, that’s kind of what I’ve always said in my meeting room. If we can have 5 plus-plays of 20 yards or more in a game, we’re going to put ourselves in a really good opportunity at the end of the game to be successful,” Gonzales said on this team improving their explosives.
It’s important to note that Florida’s failures in this category don’t fall on one person. It’s the scheme, it’s the quarterback, it’s the pass protection, it’s all 11 players on the football field. All parts of Florida’s offense could do a better job in maximizing their explosiveness.
“Everything’s got to be clicking on great plays,” Gonzales told the media. “It’s not just the quarterbacks or receivers, it’s the running back – it’s all 11. We’ve got to have 11 players playing, and I talked about being able to grade a winning performance on each play, you know, football, it demands so much of each individual.”
“Ultimately, you want to have 11 players that can create a winning performance every snap that you take. Now, that’s hard to do, that doesn’t happen all the time. But when it does happen, that’s when you’re gonna get your big plays,” Gonzales added.
Quarterback Graham Mertz claims that more explosive plays have been a point of emphasis this spring.
“We’ve had that during the spring. I think we’ve done a good job,” Mertz said. “I mean, they always tell me to be judicious, not cautious with the football. Calculated risks, understanding leverage, and there’s so many layers to it. But the biggest thing is it all comes down to communication, and if I can get us in the right protection, get everything picked up, get everybody thinking the same thing, and that comes back to taking extra time to meet with the receivers. ‘Based on this coverage, you can kind of lean in a little bit to the post.’ So there’s so many details that go into it, but yeah, that’s definitely been a point of emphasis.”
Florida promoted Russ Callaway to co-offensive coordinator this offseason, who has a background in air-raid offenses.
“He’s got some fire, man. He’s got some fire,” Mertz said on Callaway. “I mean, I think the biggest thing with him is his passion for the game. And he shows it. He’s very vocal, he’s a great leader. You know, he wants to be aggressive.”
“He’s an Air Raid guy. I mean, Air Raid’s life,” Mertz added. “I love coach, and just his fire. I mean that’s one thing that, it’s infectious. Every day we go into an offensive unit meeting, he’s bringing fire, firing the guys up, setting the tone from the jump before we put the pads on.”
Florida will need to create more vertical explosive plays if they want to have one of the top offenses in college football. With a new co-offensive coordinator, plenty of speed in the receiver room, a rebuilt offense line, and a returning quarterback, the Gators are looking to do just that in 2024.