Back in time: A look at Graham Mertz and Joe Milton as recruits
Danny Wuerffel vs. Peyton Manning it is not, but when Florida plays host to No. 11 Tennessee in the Swamp on Saturday all eyes will be on the starting quarterbacks. For Florida, you have Graham Mertz. For the Vols, it’s Joe Milton.
Both were 4-star recruits back in high school. Both transferred to their current schools from Big Ten programs. And both have posted respectable, if not spectacular, early season stats.
When it comes to experience, it’s no contest as to whom has the edge. Mertz has thrown 834 college passes to only 359 for Milton. Mertz also has a better career completion percentage (60.6 percent to 59.3).
Meanwhile, Milton has a better TD-to-INT ratio — 21/6 to 40/27, a higher career QB rating (144.8 to 129.6) and provides more in the running game by a wide margin.
Here are their 2023 numbers entering the game –
Mertz: 45 of 61 (73.8%), 526 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 INT, 153.7 QB rating, minus-21 rushing.
Milton: 42 of 63 (66.7%), 429 yards, 4 touchdowns, 0 INT, 144.8 QB rating, 40 yard rushing.
Mertz’s numbers have come against the more challenging schedule.
Now, let’s take a look back at Mertz and Milton as recruits …
Graham Mertz was a top recruit in the midwest
GRAHAM MERTZ
HIGH SCHOOL: Mission (Kan.) Blue Valley North
CLASS: 2019
RANKING: No. 4 QB, No. 57 overall (On3 Industry)
SIGNED WITH: Wisconsin (Notre Dame and others, including Alabama and Ohio State)
BY THE NUMBERS: Mertz had tremendous success during his junior and senior seasons. As a junior, he guided Blue Valley North to the Class 6A state title. A year later, the team fell in the championship game.
Mertz’s junior stats were off the charts: He completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 3,886 yards and 51 touchdowns — a state record. The following season, Mertz threw for 3,684 yards and 45 touchdowns — and added 455 rushing yards. He threw 96 touchdown passes to only 16 interceptions in high school.
Mertz was an Elite 11 finalist.
WHAT WAS SAID ABOUT HIM AS A RECRUIT: -“Even Russell Wilson, the quarterback to whom Wisconsin fans compare all others, didn’t approach Mertz’s accolades as a high school prospect. (Wilson transferred to Wisconsin from NC State in the summer of 2011.)” — Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
NOTABLE: Kansas offered Mertz before he started his first high school game.
Joe Milton was a coveted QB coming out of the Sunshine State
JOE MILTON
HIGH SCHOOL: Orlando (Fla.) Olympia
CLASS: 2018
RANKING: No. 17 QB, No. 242 overall (On3 Industry)
SIGNED WITH: Michigan (Over Georgia)
BY THE NUMBERS: Milton was a solid dual-threat QB in high school but accuracy never was a strength. In fact, he never completed more than 50 percent of his throws in a season.
He was 90-of-188 passing for 1,317 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions as a senior while adding 262 rushing yards. That came after completing 82 of 178 passes for 1,543 yards and 17 touchdowns as a junior. As a sophomore, Milton was was 88-of-183 passing for 1,115 yards and eight touchdowns.
He competed in the Elite 11 quarterback finals in 2017, but that year the camp included the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Matt Corral and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Future Gators QB Emory Jones also was in the field.
While Milton displayed a strong arm at the camp, some weren’t in love with a long delivery and his accuracy. He did not make the final Elite 11 list of top competitors for the event.
Milton was seen as being a developmental QB but one with a high ceiling.
WHAT WAS SAID ABOUT HIM AS A RECRUIT: “Milton is everything coach Harbaugh has ever wanted. Harbaugh loves alphas. He loves guys who aren’t afraid to get into a fist fight. With Joe, he’s going to go in, take the curriculum, break it down and immerse (Milton) in it. This is absolutely, 100 percent Harbaugh’s type of kid. It’s a perfect match.” — quarterback guru Steve Clarkson
NOTABLE: Milton is cousins with former NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver Anquan Boldin.
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