Gators' Napier leaning on Mertz in pivotal season

DALLAS — As Florida coach Billy Napier enters a pivotal third season with the Gators, his case for optimism after back-to-back losing season starts with quarterback Graham Mertz.

Mertz, a Wisconsin transfer entering his second season at Florida, improved his completion percentage by a staggering 15% last year, finishing just under 73%. That marked the best in the SEC and No. 3 in the country.

“He’s one of the best quarterbacks in America,” Napier said, adding that he expects the NFL to develop a strong interested in Mertz.

Mertz will need to have another strong season, as Florida has a schedule that includes the country’s toughest nonconference schedule, which includes Miami, Florida State and UCF. The back-to-back losing seasons combined with the schedule have made Napier the speculative favorite among SEC coaches to be fired this year.

Napier’s buyout would be more than $26 million if he’s fired come Dec. 1.

“I don’t know if I would say I feel pressure,” Napier said. “I mean, I just think I’m a little bit more aware like this game is a conditional game. I mean, people love you when you win. People don’t like you when you lose.

“I want it for our players. That’s what I would say. I think I’ve observed how hard they’ve worked. Not been easy here the last couple of years now. This is not for the faint of heart. And then the game has evolved and changed every six months.”

When Napier took over at Florida following the 2021 season, he said the team earned “zero dollars in NIL.” That has transitioned to the Gators “getting ready to pay our team $12.5 million to $15 million here over the next couple years.”

Napier said that he’s looked at his tenure as having a Year 0, Year 1 and now entering Year 2, and outlined how much has happened during his tenure that’s made it feel that way.

“So we transitioned into new facilities,” he said. “We had to hire staff, modernize the infrastructure. All the player experience had to be completely overhauled — housing, parking, nutrition. There’s a lot of work to do. And then I think, ‘Hey, don’t forget you compete against the cream of the crop and they’ve got a little bit of a headstart on you.'”

After a 5-7 season in 2023, any improvement will begin with Mertz.

Mertz came to Florida as a four-star who veered off course, as he arrived in Madison in the Class of 2019 as ESPN’s No. 1-ranked pocket passer. He left there inconsistent and turnover prone, as coach Paul Chryst was fired in early October during Mertz’s final season in Madison.

Mertz’s numbers jumped at Florida, as he finished the 2023 season setting a few program records — most consecutive passes without an interception (239), consecutive passes completed (19) and completion percentage (72.9%).

Perhaps most notable, Mertz cut his interceptions down to just three after throwing 10 in 2022 and 11 in 2021. That decrease in interceptions came with 70 more attempts than he had in either 2022 or 2021.

“Let me say this, he’s going to play extremely well this year and then [the NFL is] going to start interviewing this guy,” Napier said. “They’re going to get him in the room, and they’re [going to be like] this one of the best quarterbacks in the country and he’s going to play extremely well. Don’t forget that this guy was ranked the third-best quarterback in America coming out.”

Mertz said the hard times at Wisconsin have shaped him.

“Adversity made me,” he said. “I think knowing that adversity is coming 24-7, it makes you a little bit more ready for adversity when you’ve been through it.”

He added that he wants to leave college a winner in his final season. “I don’t want the journey to end either,” he said. “I think that’s one thing. I think as far as college football, I think I just want to win, man. That’s why I came back. But it’s been a wild ride. I think I’ve learned a lot about myself, not just football, but life. How I handle hard stuff, how I handle good stuff. And life’s just all about just staying steady.”