The Gators are set to take on the Miami Hurricanes on August 31st at 3:30 PM EST. Gator Country continues breaking down Florida’s roster ahead of their week one matchup.
Quarterback
There were plenty of question marks surrounding Florida’s addition of Graham Mertz last offseason as many thought he was not the answer at quarterback after Anthony Richardson’s departure to the NFL. Mertz went on to have a career year, tossing for 2,903 yards and 20 touchdowns in his first year at UF. Mertz has established himself as a team leader and an efficient field general, completing 72.9% of his passes while throwing a career a low three interceptions.
We know now what Mertz can provide Florida’s offense, but how can he take the next step? The Gators want to be more explosive offensively, and that starts with Mertz taking more shots downfield.
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.
In 2023, Mertz completed just 16 passes that traveled 20+ yards downfield on 39 attempts, recording five touchdowns and zero interceptions on deep balls. Florida would like for Mertz to complete more than 41% of his deep passes, but the number of attempts was not nearly enough to scare an opposing defense.
“We are trying to get Graham to be more aggressive without being careless,” head coach Billy Napier said on Mertz during spring camp. “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.”
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. Mertz and Florida’s offense have to improve on explosives if they want to take a significant jump in 2024.
I think it’s fair to say Mertz needed the year he had last season to rebuild his confidence as a passer and prove himself in the SEC. However, Billy Napier and Graham Mertz need to be aggressive with their passing concepts while executing at a high level.
I know everyone is excited about true freshman QB DJ Lagway, but this is Graham Mertz’s football team, as Napier has continually stated this offseason. I do not expect Lagway to start any games unless Mertz suffers an injury, but that doesn’t devalue what Lagway brings to the table in 2024.
Playing backup quarterback in the SEC is a huge role in itself, especially for a true freshman, but the Willis, Texas native has a chance to help Florida win football games in 2024. Lagway provides a different element to Florida’s offense and with his arm strength and ability to move outside the pocket.
Lagway might have a chance to help Florida from week one with specific designed packages, and it’s fair to expect his role or workload will increase as the season progresses and he gains a higher level of comfortability within the offense.
Billy Napier has noticed a significant growth in Lagway’s development from spring to fall camp.
“I think he made tremendous growth. His knowledge of defense, and I think he’s improved fundamentally, too. I think the ball’s coming out more consistently, his feet have been polished up. He’s getting better.”
Lagway will start the 2024 as one of the more intriguing and talented backup quarterbacks in college football. The 6’3, 239-pound QB is the future of Florida and we should see that put on display in some capacity this season.
Florida’s third string quarterback is Colorado State transfer Clay Millen, who logged 11 starts in two seasons with the Rams. Millen’s 72.2 completion percentage in 2022 set the single-season CSU completion percentage record and the NCAA record for an FBS freshman while posting the second-best mark in Mountain West history.
DEPTH CHART: Mertz, Lagway, Millen