The New Transfer Tackles have Turned Mertz into a Believer

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:

After a season in which he spent far too much time on his back because the O-line just never could get it together with any consistency, Graham Mertz really appreciates what he’s seeing from Devon Manuel (6-7, 319, from Arkansas) and Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson (6-7, 315, from San Diego State). It has only taken nine spring practices for Florida’s quarterback to become a believer that the two transfer tackles can be difference-makers in the fall.

"Oh, they're awesome,” Mertz said Tuesday after practice. “They're awesome. I mean, that was practice nine of spring? I think just overall, communication across that group we have right now is fantastic. I think they're doing a great job of seeing things. When you're a quarterback and your left tackle's like, 'Hey, look, that corner's coming.' I'm like,  'Oh okay. This guy's dialed in.' So for me, we're doing a good job of communicating, talking through different looks.”

It isn’t just the tackles who are getting the job done. The entire offensive line has been re-tooled. The three inside guys are returning starting center Jake Slaughter (6-5, 297) and guards Knijeah Harris (6-3, 323) and Damieon George Jr. (6-6, 362), who has been bumped inside after starting at right tackle last season.

“And I mean, when you have an offense and you have those five and the quarterback and you guys can communicate at a high level and understand what everybody's thinking all the time, that's when that group really, really sets the tone for the game,” Mertz said. “Whether it's run game, pass game or anything."

Slaughter has pretty much taken charge of the O-line room. He had a forgetful first start of his collegiate career last year at Utah, but progressed every week to the point that he finished as Florida’s highest-grading O-lineman. Mertz says it is “kind of a security blanket” built-in to be on the same page with a very cerebral center.

An improved offensive line that can get the job done whether in pass protection or for the running game is a first step toward turning a good but not great offense into one that has explosive capabilities. Having those extra split seconds to look the field over and make decisions should make Mertz Year Two better than last year, his transfer year after four years at Wisconsin.

A year ago, Mertz threw for 2,903 yards (8.1 per attempt) with 20 touchdown passes and only three interceptions. He completed 72.4 percent of his passes. Not even Danny Wuerffel, Tim Tebow or Kyle Trask ever did that.

Too often last season when the protection was iffy at best, Mertz had to take the first open guy he saw instead of waiting for something downfield to break free. The extra split seconds he expects to get in the fall will allow him to get the ball downfield more often, which, in turn, should make the Gators much more explosive.

“They always tell me to be judicious, not cautious with the football,” Mertz said.  “Calculated risks, understanding leverage, and there's so many layers to it, but the biggest thing is it all comes down to communication, and if I can get us in the right protection, get everything picked up, get everybody thinking the same thing, and that comes back to taking extra time to meet with the receivers. 'Based on this coverage, you can kind of lean in a little bit to the post.' So there's so many details that go into it, but yeah, that's definitely been a point of emphasis."

A season ago, Mertz’s only consistent downfield receiver was Ricky Pearsall, off now to the NFL. This season, the Gators have more vertical speed than they’ve had in years, a potential superstar in sophomore Eugene (Tre) Wilson III, and a familiar face in transfer Chimere Dike, who connected with Mertz for 47 completions and 689 yards in 2022 when they were battery mates at Wisconsin.

So Mertz has options. Wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales, who’s been around a few good quarterbacks in his day (Alex Smith, Tim Tebow, Dak Prescott, Kyle Trask) thinks Mertz is capable of great things this year.

“Graham is one of the best quarterbacks I’ve ever been around,” Gonzales said. “He is a super smart football player, he processes super fast, he’s a big-time football player. Tough, mentally tough, competitor, leader, but walking into a program just kind of feeling the program out to make sure ‘Okay, when can I step up and really take charge’, well that happened during the offseason, summertime, and the season. It’s come night and day, my opinion’s night and day different from last year at this time. He’s a leader, he’s a competitor, the team knows that, and a super, super smart football player. Super excited about him, I think he’s a great football player. I can’t say enough great things about Graham.”

UF BASKETBALL: 20 possibilities from the portal for Todd Golden

Todd Golden has been flying back and forth across the country trying to decide who the Gators are going to bring in from the portal for next season. The Gators have eight returning scholarship players and one signee already. Golden will be seeking to land three, possibly four from the portal. Here are 20 possibilities.

Point guards

Koren Johnson, Washington (6-2, 175, SO): He has Florida on his short list. Last season averaged 11.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while hitting 37.3 percent on threes.

Frankie Collins, Arizona State (6-1, 185, JR): Florida is on his short list. Last season averaged 13.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game playing for Bobby Hurley.

Drew Thelwell, Morehead State (6-3, 190, SR): Prepped at The Master’s Academy in Orlando. Played at Morehead for Matt McMahon (now LSU coach) and Preston Spradlin (now coach at James Madison). Excellent on ball defender who last season averaged 10 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

Dionte Bostick, Cal State-Northridge (6-2, 190, JR): He’s from Clearwater and the same conference that sent Zyon Pullin to the Gators. Averaged 15.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

Myles Rice, Washington State: (6-2, 175, RFR): He’s an Atlanta kid who might find Florida quite attractive if he doesn’t follow Kyle Smith to Stanford. Rice played his AAU ball for the Atlanta Celtics, which was founded and is run by UF assistant Korey McCrays family. At Wazzoo last year he averaged 13.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

Kerr Kriisa, West Virginia (6-3, 180, SR): He’s from the same Lithuanian club program that sent freshman KK. He’s a solid distributor who excels as a long range shooter. Averaged 11 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists while shooting 42.3 percent on 3-pointers.

Javian McCollum (6-1, 185, JR): This is another kid who played high school ball in Florida in the portal. McCollum was a skinny 155 when he left Fort Myers. He’s 185 and solid now. At Oklahoma last season averaged 13.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

Not in the portal … yet

Bruce Thornton, Ohio State (6-2, 215, SO): There is plenty of speculation and whispering that he will transfer to Florida where baby brother Bryce is a safety for Billy Napier and the Gators. Averaged 15.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. The coach who recruited him to Ohio State was fired, so this could weigh in Florida’s favor IF he decides to transfer.

Small forwards/shooting guards

Cade Tyson, Belmont (6-7, 210, SO): Florida is in it, but so are Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky. Averaged 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and shot a scorching 46.5 percent from the 3-point line. Florida’s Will Richard is from Belmont.

Mike James, Louisville (6-6, 200, SO): Played high school ball at Oak Ridge where he was a consensus 4-star recruit. Florida was never on his radar. Averaged 12.6 points and 5.0 rebounds. Alabama and Texas A&M are in hot pursuit.

Rytis Petraitis, Air Force (6-7, 210, SO): Can defend the wings and the post. Had a triple-double this past season where he averaged 15.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

Zach Anderson, Florida Gulf Coast (6-7, 205, JR): Played high school ball with Sam Alexis at Apopka but was a low-to-mid major recruit who has blossomed and filled out his body. Outstanding long distance shooter who averaged 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and hit 45.3 percent of his 3-pointers.

Max Jones, Cal State-Fullerton (6-4, 200, JR): Clearwater High grad who spent a year at Tampa before transferring to Fullerton. Shot 38.3 percent on 3-pointers while averaging 15.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

Scotty Middleton, Ohio State (6-6, 200, FR): A top 50 high school recruit from Miami and Sunrise Christian (KS), he struggled to get minutes at Ohio State. Has offers out of high school from UConn and Kansas among others. Excellent in transition and an elite defender who averaged 4.4 points but shot 45.3 percent on limited three attempts.

AJ Staton-McCoy, Samford (6-6, 200, JR): Thrives in an up and down style. Can defend three positions and can nail the 3-ball (41.3 percent) in transition. Averaged 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds in Bucky Ball at Samford.

Big guys

Sam Alexis, Chattanooga (6-9, 230, SO): He was a skinny 190 when he was a high school center in Apopka. He’s a powerful 230-plus now who averaged 10.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks while making the Southern Conference defensive team. Florida is in his top five and thought to be the hands down leader.

Eric Daily Jr., Oklahoma State (6-8, 230, FR): He is from Palmetto, prepped at IMG Academy. Supposedly wants to come home to the state. As a freshman averaged 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Justin Abson, Appalachian State (6-9, 235, SO): Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year for the conference champs. Averaged 7.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. Played high school ball at North Broward Prep in Pompano Beach.

Vladislav Goldin, Florida Atlantic (7-1, 240, JR): Does he follow Dusty May to Michigan or step into a starting role at Florida? He averaged 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds per game and is an intimidator in the paint. Goldin playing for Golden. That has a nice ring to it.

Danny Wolf, Yale (7-1, 255, SO): Michigan has made him a priority recruit which would seem that Dusty doesn’t think he’s going to get Goldin to follow him. Averaged 14.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the Yale team that beat Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Maxime Reynaud, Stanford (7-1, 250, JR): Everybody wants the big Frenchman.  Florida might have a better shot than people think because Todd Golden’s style would allow him to run and shoot the 3-pointer, plus Golden has a very successful track record with international players. Averaged 15.9 points, 9.6 rebounds per game.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Do we really need a super league to save college football? There is a group working on just such a proposal. Among its members are West Virginia president Gordon Gee (formerly of Vanderbilt and Ohio State) and Syracuse president Kent Syverud. They have engaged the NFL’s No. 2 guy in Brian Rolapp to come up with a plan that would see college football divided into seven 10-team leagues from what we now call the power conferences and an eighth league of 10 teams from the Group of Five. The 70 power conference schools would always be secure but the 10 from the Group of Five could be kicked off the island for poor performance, replaced by an up-and-comer.

It sounds a lot like the British Premier League to me.

There is no question that college football and college sports in general are at a significant crossroads. Too many of the power conference schools are teetering on the verge of financial disaster. With pay for play an almost certainty in the near future, there are schools that won’t be able to afford to field a football team anymore. Entire conferences may have to give up scholarship football and do it like Division III or the Ivy League.

Is this what we want? Take a moment to consider this: There are 133 Division I football teams. If all 133 are maxed out on scholarships, that’s 11,305 kids who have a chance to get a college education. Say one 12-school conference bottoms out and all 12 have to quit football. That’s 1,020 kids who just lost their scholarships. That’s 1,020 lost opportunities.

I do not have the answers but I do know this. Business people have to take over college football. College presidents, I can assure you, don’t have the answers and the NCAA is absolutely clueless. Divorce the NCAA. Start a new organization with a business model designed to keep the majority of football-playing schools able to field a team.

It can be done. It has to be done.