FLORIDA FOOTBALL: Mertz and Smack Take Home Weekly SEC Honors

Following Florida's miraculous 41-39 win in Columbia, quarterback Graham Mertz and kicker Trey Smack both earned SEC Player of the Week honors. This was Mertz's first nod of the year as a conference player of the week, meanwhile Smack earns his second honor of the season.

Mertz played lights out against the Gamecocks, finishing the game with a 62% completion percentage while throwing for a career-high 423 yards and adding three touchdowns. He also led the Gators down the field flawlessly for their game-winning drive.

For Florida, Mertz's performance and final drive are prime examples of why Billy Napier and his staff viewed Mertz so highly once he entered the transfer portal. His experience simply cannot be matched and that was put on display in the game's final three minutes.

In addition to earning the SEC Offensive Player of the Week, Mertz was also named to the Davey O’Brien Great 8 List for Week 7. By making the list this past week, he will now be eligible for the 2023 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award.

As for Smack, he is named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time this season. He had first earned the honor after the Florida week four matchup with Charlotte.

Smack has been excellent for Florida after taking over the job from Adam Mihalek early in the year. He finished Saturday making four of five field goals and all three extra points. Smack had been perfect on the year, but saw his field goal attempt blocked early in the fourth quarter.

Nonetheless, Smack has been very consistent for the Gators and even tied his career long in Columbia with a 54 yard field goal. He is now 11/12 on the season.

Mertz, Smack and the rest of the Florida football program will enjoy their bye week ahead of their tilt with Georgia in Jacksonville just under two weeks from now.