Three Thoughts from the Florida Gators spring game
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators finished spring camp with the annual Orange and Blue spring game. The blue team, led by senior quarterback Graham Mertz took home the victory after a Trey Smack field goal as time expired.
Here are three thoughts from the spring game.
The Jadan Baugh fan club is taking memberships
Billy Napier and Jabbar Juluke had to fight off Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide on National Signing Day to hold on to Jadan Baugh. After this spring it’s clear why the now-retired head coach and surefire Hall of Famer wanted Baugh in Tuscaloosa.
When Billy Napier first went to recruit Baugh he thought he was going to see a linebacker. At six feet tall and 238 pounds, he might look like a linebacker but Saturday he showed what he can do carrying the football.
“I remember the first time I went into that school. His dad actually played linebacker at Columbia High School, and I played against his dad. His dad played linebacker. I played quarterback. Phenomenal family. Just a class act. You go in that school with that kid, I mean, he is what you are looking for. Not only passes the physical evaluation, but he’s a leader. He can run the route tree as a receiver. He was a Wildcat quarterback, and he played linebacker and safety too. He played the entire game. He was a very productive player.”
Baugh is a bigger back but showed some wiggle, shiftiness, and patience. He’s going to be a really productive player for the Gators.
“Seeing his first couple of days at practice, I knew he was going to make some shaking,” receiver Eugene Wilson said of Baugh. “He most definitely showcased it off today in the spring game. Most definitely.”
D.J. Lagway will get the headlines but it’s Graham Mertz’s team
A lot of the hype and anticipating surrounding the Florida Gators spring game centered around the five-star quarterback who is the highest quarterback signee since Brock Berlin. Lagway won just about every award a high school quarterback can win. He is the future of the Gators’ football program but this is Graham Mertz’s team. And that’s ok.
Mertz knows that he will start. He’s earned it, not just with his play last year but with what he’s done on the field and as a leader off the field as well. The fact that Mertz is confident in his place, even with Lagway pushing him in practice, is a positive thing for the Gators. He’s taken Lagway under his wing, and helped him adjust to being a college student-athlete and to the speed of the game at this level.
“I think (Mertz) sees a young player that’s talented, and he is doing everything that he can do to help him take on more. I think not only teaching him the football part, but I just think the examples everyday of how to prepare, how to approach meetings, the self-discipline part relative to how to take care of your body, how to study film,” Napier said of the relationship between Mertz and Lagway.
“I think we’re going to look back and we’re going to say that it’s one of the best things that happened to the University of Florida is Graham Mertz came back for another year while DJ Lagway was a true freshman. It’s going to benefit both guys.”
I agree.
Eugene Wilson has taken the next step
This isn’t a hot take. It’s cold but it’s good to see. Wilson continues to take the next step in his progression. Talking with people inside the program, Wilson was uncoverable all spring. Sharif Denson isn’t a bad football football player — he picked off Mertz on Saturday — but he couldn’t cover Wilson, who hauled in eight passed for 128 yards and an interception.
“It’s a product of a lot of hard work,” Napier said of Wilson. “I think he’s did today what I’ve been watching him do all spring. Been very productive. He has great practice habits, mature. His dad was a pro player. I think that contributes to his mindset a little bit.”
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