I understand your point, brother! And if that's the case, why even bring Mertz into the fold? Obviously, Billy has brought in upgrades for next year, but the quarterback is the most critical and I don't see an upgrade yet. I'm assuming that most would agree that we could have done better than Mertz--and we should still do better! We have a team that should have gone 9-3 last year, losing only to Tennessee, LSU, and GA. In 2023, GA, and LSU will be challenging to win; but with the right quarterback, we might make it a game. What I'm calling 2nd tier teams could beat us--Utah, Tennessee, Kentucky, SC, Arkansas, Misery, and Free Shoes. Again, I doubt we win those with what we have at qb now. I am not sure the defense will be better this year. So, doesn't it stand to reason that we need a quarterback who can put up points, instead of being turnover prone? Your thoughts?
On the surface, I like this article as a fan. The dream of two 1,000 yard rushers. However, if the opposing defense crowds the box and forces Mertz to beat them with his arm, then what? I want to believe Mertz can turn the corner, but it seems like a real WHAT-IF or is it a whiff? Former Tulane RB Cameron Carroll Transfers To Florida | In All Kinds of Weather
Thanks Doc - I guess my first thought is that we won’t likely get a great QB via transfer without some baggage. My biggest concern about this coming season is that too many people are demanding step-change improvement over this year, and the pressure is gonna be more destructive than purposeful. Billy has made it clear that he’s building for the long haul and isn’t likely to be distracted by quick fixes to appease our impatient and unrealistic fan base. We can say “we shoulda beat” this team or that team last year and coulda gone 9-3 if things had just been a little different — but we didn’t and that’s largely because our team wasn’t very good. One QB from the portal isn’t going to transform a struggling team entering year 2 of a complete overhaul into a 9 or 10 win team in this conference. We need to accept that this upcoming season is going to be frustrating again. If the rest of the team improves over last year and the QB play is at least more consistent than AR was, I think it’s reasonable to hope for 7 or 8 wins and another strong recruiting class to contribute to the rebuild. And maybe 9 if all the what-ifs fall our way. Mertz/Miller may not be splashy but if they’re functional game managers and our defense improves and we get decent play out of our OL in run and pass protection, we should see improvement which is all I’m asking for this season. Direct the NIL $$ to the trenches and build this thing right. This is not a 2-year plan. Go Gators
Rashada……. He was probably the plan by game 3-4. That’s out the window now. No qb auditioning for the nfl would have come into a situation with Rashada being the plan mid season. Water under the bridge now. Maybe after spring, there are other options but that ship has sailed at the moment.
A couple of points may be worth exploring. First, anyone expecting, dreaming of, hoping for, hallucinating or even just fantasizing about having two 1,000 yard rushers at UF in '23 probably needs to have his head examined. Regardless of how well or how poorly the starting QB(s) play, with a rebuilt OL, a second year HC in the midst of a monumental rebuild, plus one of the tougher schedules in CFB, the chances of that happening are vanishingly small. Exit strawman number one. Secondly, while I will grant that the situation at QB is not what anyone of us (including BN?) might want it to be, deeming it a lost cause at this point is premature at best. FTR, it might be reasonable to speculate that a player who left a program with a recent history of towering offensive ineptitude, after having arrived as the highest rated QB recruit in school history out of HS, might not be the total waste of a scholarship that some seem to think. And as others have already pointed out, we will almost certainly have other promising options after spring practice, as other prospects enter the portal. Arrivederci SM numero due.
It's really sad, Mertz hasn't played a single down for the Gators yet the hate and disgust being heaped on him by so many posters is quite palatable. 22 pages....
Thank you! It’s freaking ridiculous. I don’t care how many asshole fans other teams have, this is despicable behavior from a bunch of clowns who have the unmitigated gall to actually associate themselves with “in all kinds of weather we’ll all stick together “. This is no way to ‘welcome’ a new kid to our QB room. Imagine the howling and screaming here if Mertz suddenly said ‘screw this’ and took his offering somewhere else. Miller would certainly catch the brunt of it. SMH
Yup. Imagine if he's successful. These Aholes get joy either way. If he fails or succeeds they are happy and never held accountable for being ignorant spoiled Aholes
Your whining and complaining is ridiculous. Please tell what established QB in the portal would have realistically come to the Gators. By the time we took Mertz there were none left because McCall and Pratt both stayed at their current schools and Hartman was never coming here because he was looking for a shot at the playoffs and a national championship and that is not likely for the Gators next year. Leary missed most of last season with a torn pectoral. Would you have taken a chance with him? Those are the QBs most talked about on this board so who else would have been better than Mertz? If we had not taken Mertz then everyone would have been screaming we didn't get a QB at all.
So, enlighten us all on the accolades of Mertz? I'll check back tomorrow and see if you could come up with at least one.
We all get it. You hate Mertz. It's very tiring. Why not take a break on the negativity until he actually throws a pass in Napier's offense. After the spring game if he doesn't meet your standards, you can neg away.
I don't think the plan was ever going to be Rashada as our starting QB for 2023. His body isn't ready for the rigors of the SEC. It also made no sense to bring in both he AND DJ from a "salary" allocation standpoint.
First, Mertz is a Gator and we pull for him. We don't give up on him before he has taken his first snap as a Gator based on what Wisconsin coordinators and QB coaches did. He had a new one of each every year he played, I think. If Coach Napier wants him, I trust coach's evaluations more than a Saturday Down South column. Second, you don't need a home run hitter at QB. It's nice, but you need consistency. Using your own baseball analogy, you win more games nailing singles and doubles consistently than swinging for the fences and booming one occasionally. Mertz has better and faster athletes on his current team than he had at Wisconsin and that makes a difference. Third, I think it's ridiculous to say Coach Napier's tenure at Florida is at stake based on what Mertz does or does not do. You're usually less extreme.
Great post ET We as fans here need to understand that recruits, current players and parents/ relatives/ friends of recruits, etc read comments here on our website..it doesn't look good for our program to already be bashing players before they even take a snap for our team Why not revisit how he does after he has played a few games if he wins the starting job as our QB. I would like to think that Gator fans would support our team and coaching staff and give them a chance.
