"UF QB Graham Mertz’s longtime coach says he’ll finally flourish with Gators"

If I had the choice to be hyped up or underrated coming into the season, I'd prefer to be underrated. Mertz is in a good position here to earn his respect on the field. The best coaches know how to get the most out of their talent and not screw things up. One of our own greats, Tim Tebow, was horribly misused in the NFL. I find it hard to believe that a guy who was a prolific above 60% passer his whole life somehow became a sub 50% passer overnight and it wasn't the coaching or scheme. It's very possible that UW's coaching and scheme held Mertz back. We shall see.

 

Agreed. While I am in no way comparing him to Joe Burrow or expecting that kind of production, many of us (myself included) wrote him off after his first season at lsu.

 

Really good to read that both Napier and O’Hara have welcomed Hoover participating with Mertz. That’s a good vibe and reflects their confidence in themselves and their system.

 

FIFY

 

I'm going to be bold a predict he won't chuck any balls into the endzone or sideline seats. That's a positive development.

 

The bar is set low for him so even if he has a mediocre output, he won’t get blamed too much. Wish him luck tho!

 

Some come to the SEC and step it up. Some shrink.

Fire reveals all.

 

Dumb question, but what exactly is Napiers offense when all the proper pieces are in place and trained up? I never really deep dove into louisianas offensive strategy/mantra, but is there an ‘evil genius’ Napier signature? Or does it rely on the system being so dialed in and executed to perfection?

 

Good question. I’m inclined to think the latter

 

I am a CBN fan, but boy do I miss the Head Ball Coach. Few have ever been able to advance plays or draw up new ones in the heat of a game. Fun with strategery!

 

AR15 , INMHO, was a bust when considering all of his attributes. He has amazing athleticism but his decision making was at times awful. The team relied too much on him to deliver them when times got tough. He abandoned his teammates, fans and school way too early.

 

He left for $30+ million dollars. What terrible decision making abandoning the team for that lol.

 

I hope Mertz coach is right but what would you expect him to say?

 

Him and his family executed a perfect plan. Also, its quite possible AR saw what the 23 season would bring and if it didn't end with a shot of a championship appearance, why risk the injury. I applaud him for his financial success, but he left the trophy case empty and I suspect he will be naming his high school and not "Florida Gators" when he introduces himself in games.

 

Yep. My guess: Chryst had him throwing a lot of third and long. I'd love to see all the B12 QBs ranked based on down-and-distance. 2nd and 4, how did each QB do? Etc.