Double take with de la Torre: Florida Gators optimistic about the quarterback room
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators are just over a week from starting fall camp in preparation for the 2023 football season. The team will meet on July 30 and go through media day with fall camp hitting the turf on July 31, one month before the season opener against the Utah Utes.
In a recurring column that will run during football season, senior writer Nick de la Torre will give a double take on key storylines to watch throughout the season.
What is the biggest reason for optimism about the quarterback room inside the Florida Gators facility?
The Florida Gators didn’t bring a quarterback to SEC Media Days, which would have publically signified a starter. But Billy Napier might have slipped up when talking with On3’s Andy Staples.
“Ultimately we have a great system that distributes the ball depending on how the defense aligns. We just need Graham (Mertz) to make great decisions.”
It hasn’t been publically declared, I fully expect that Graham Mertz will be the starting quarterback. This shouldn’t take any of our readers at Gators Online by surprise. It has been the constant and consistent take from both myself and Zach Abolverdi. The Mertz experience has been a rollercoaster. The initial take was widely questioned and lambasted by the fan base. Then, early enrollee, Andy Jean said Mertz was the best quarterback he’d ever played with. I was quick to point out that Jean played high school football at Northwestern without a great quarterback. Of course, the 22-year-old, with three years of experience was the best quarterback the 17-year-old Jean had played with. To me, the statement that rallied the fan base didn’t mean much.
Inside the building, however, there is immense optimism with Mertz under center.
“He’s doing exactly what you would want a veteran quarterback to do. This is like acquiring a free agent that has played multiple years as a starter,” Napier said of Mertz. “He’s learning our system, he’s embraced our methods, our way of doing things. And I think you get almost a renewed lease on life, like having a new lease on life. You come in, you’re experienced, you’ve got a chip on your shoulder, and you’re there with purpose. And I think he’s been really professional in his approach.”
Florida’s offense will look to run the football. The team is well-positioned to have a successful rushing attack with Montrell Johnson, Trevor Etienne, Cam Carroll, and Treyaun Webb. Florida doesn’t need Mertz to be otherworldly. They need him to hit the easy passes and keep defenses honest. Teams will want to key in and sell out to stop Florida’s rushing attack. Mertz needs to be accurate enough to keep defenses honest and not turn the ball over. There is a lot of confidence within the program that he is more than capable of doing just that.
Which position battle — besides QB — should Florida fans have the most interest in and why
Safety.
All offseason we used a sharpie to write down Kamari Wilson and Miguel Mitchell as the starting safeties. Does anyone have a whiteout?
Florida went into the transfer portal this spring to pull Michigan safety, RJ Moten. The junior played in all 14 games for the second straight season with 10 starts at safety. He totaled 31 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups, and two hurries with an interception for the Wolverines.
Based on the people inside the building I have spoken with, Moten will give Kamari Wilson a run for his money to start and several people have indicated to Gator Online that they believe Moten will win the job and start next to Miguel Mitchell.
You have to be strong up the middle. The Gators have done an exceptional job re-tooling the interior defensive line adding size and experience through the transfer portal. They have a veteran linebacker in Teradja Mitchell and sophomore Shemar James. Adding Moten was hige for the safety room, which lacked not only experience but overall numbers. Moten brings both and he’s my favorite to win the starting job next to Mitchell this fall.
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