Florida Football Friday Final: Gators open vs. Miami with plans for Graham Mertz, DJ Lagway in question

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Image Credit: Mallory Peak, UAA

Here’s a rarity: Florida Gators football opens the season as a Week 1 underdog in The Swamp. The No. 19 Miami Hurricanes will enter Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday afternoon as a 2.5-point favorite, a reality the Gators have not faced perhaps ever before. This as Year 3 under head coach Billy Napier kicks off with lowered expectations for a Florida team up against the most difficult schedule in college football history.

One of the bright spots coming off the Gators’ third straight losing season — a first for the program since 1948-51 — was the play of now-redshirt senior quarterback Graham Mertz. Speaking of lowered expectations, Mertz joined Florida from Wisconsin where he had thrown 37 touchdowns to 25 interceptions over three seasons as a starter.

The hope was that Mertz would do just enough through the air to give allow the Gators’ running game to shine. The reality was that Mertz broke out with career-bests in every passing category; he completed 72.9% of his passes for 2,903 yards with 20 touchdowns to just three interceptions. To say he exceeded expectations would be a massive understatement.

So there was no doubt that Mertz would remain Florida’s incumbent starter when he decided to return for his collegiate campaign. That’s the reality five-star QB DJ Lagway accepted when he chose to play for Napier and the Gators out of Willis High School in Texas.

“It’s his team,” Napier said matter-of-factly regarding Mertz, who he praised or putting himself through intense work all offseason — even before fall camp began — to improve across all phases of his game. “We’re going to play better around him, and then the work he’s done all the way going back to January will provide that next step.”

Lagway, the No. 1 QB in the country and highest-rated passer to sign with the program since Jeff Driskel in 2011, enters Florida with more hype than any prospect since the legendary Tim Tebow. Whether he will have the same freshman-year impact as the two-time national champion and 2007 Heisman Trophy winner certainly remains to be seen.

Showing clear and consistent improvement throughout the fall, Lagway has grown far more comfortable in the Gators’ system than when he initially joined the program in January. That is to be expected, of course, but given Florida’s lacking depth at the position and Lagway’s pedigree, he is firmly entrenched not only as Mertz’s backup but potentially the man who will spell him on occasion in games.

Napier has taken a close-to-the-vest approach when asked about Lagway’s usage this season.

It would certainly be a surprise to see him utilize Lagway in a true two-quarterback system the way former head coach Steve Spurrier did decades ago with Danny Wuerffel and Terry Dean, Doug Johnson and Noah Brindise, Johnson and Jesse Palmer or Palmer and Rex Grossman. Spurrier saw those tandems as being close in skill, and given his experience playing the position, he felt like he had a handle on when to appropriately push and pull his signal callers to maximize their effectiveness. That is certainly not the case for Mertz and Lagway given their drastically different levels of experience.

Yet Lagway offers a skillset Mertz does not, one similar to what Tebow possessed when former head coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator Dan Mullen decided it would be best to substitute him into the game frequently for Chris Leak — primarily on short-yardage and goal line plays. So, will Lagway be the Tebow to Mertz’s Leak in 2024?

“We have one of the best quarterbacks in the entire country on our team — Graham Mertz, you start with that. He’s the leader of our team. It’s been his team since Day 1 of the offseason, and he’s been fantastic — just his example,” Napier explained Monday. “He earned his stripes last year; he really earned the trust and established credibility of his teammates and also the staff, the entire organization. The way he engages people, his example, he models the behaviors that we want from every player.

“And then we have a really young, talented player who is inexperienced, who has been able to observe Graham and the way that he’s done it. That’s been very beneficial [for DJ]. It’s also been exciting for our offensive staff because they’re different types of offensive players, so scripting is unique and a lot of fun.

“… It’s been an awesome challenge to build the offense around two different types of players. And look, DJ Lagway is one play away from running out there and having to play for the Gators. We prepare that way all the time, and the things we are able to do with DJ will make us more difficult to defend – some of the thing she brings to the table.”

It certainly sounds like Lagway will have a package of plays with plans to utilize them on a weekly basis. Will he be used as frequently — or be able to produce as much — as Tebow did behind Leak? That should start to work itself out as early as Saturday in The Swamp.

Notes & quotes

• Billy Donovan took time out of his schedule to speak to the entire Florida football team this offseason. Napier called it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the squad saying it was “humbling” that Donovan accepted the offer to come in and support the Gators. The coaches spent more than two hours speaking together privately following the team meeting.
• Florida will bring back 41,000 snaps of experience this season, fourth-most in the SEC when it comes to returning production. That along with a transfer portal class that includes multiple veteran players from other programs. Napier has touted that experience all offseason but clarified that it is only valuable if the Gators are able to properly utilize it by applying what has been learned over careers to on-field production.
• Along with that experience comes improved depth at key positions for Florida. Napier said the competition in practice has been far better than either of his first two offseasons. “It’s extremely competitive. Their practice habits have been impressive to watch.”
• Headset communications are being allowed in college football for the first time this season. Napier called it a positive as it is less language that the players need to learn as they no longer need to rely on hand signals as frequently. However, he cited it as a learning process for every coach and quarterback in America (plus, defensive captains need to get used to the process as well).
• Perhaps no team has benefited more from a recent NCAA rule that now allows analysts to be on the field. This is because, for the third straight season, the Gators will not have a special teams coordinator on staff – despite that unit being the source of endless frustration given its numerous miscues over Napier’s first 26 games. Napier hired a second analyst to help coach up the position, and with the NCAA rule change, both men will be able to coach up players during practice so they can provide immediate feedback and instruction on the spot. They will also be able to work with the special teams unit on Saturdays, though neither will be allowed to wear a headset.
• Napier’s final thoughts on the 2024 Gators before the season: “I’m excited to watch this team. I’ve got a lot of belief in this group. We’ve been working for a long time. This group is one that’s fun to be around. I’ve got a ton of appreciation for the accountability at the player level, the ownership. We’ve built some character and intangibles that will help us play football better. It’s time to go play.”