Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — One of the most dynamic athletes to ever play for the Gators has left The Swamp.

Most years, that might spell doom for the offensive backfield considering Anthony Richardson played quarterback. Richardson can make plays other quarterbacks can't. He is also prone to mistakes from inexperience.

What Richardson's early departure for the NFL means to the Gators in 2023 rests largely with Wisconsin transfer quarterback Graham Mertz. Second-year head coach Billy Napier named Mertz the starter heading into the season opener at Utah in 10 days.

"Probably's worked as hard as any player on our team,'' Napier said. "Relentless in approach. I've been impressed with his ability to come in and learn the system, translate what he knows and apply that to our system."

Mertz made 32 career starts for the Badgers and is the most experienced quarterback for the Gators since Tim Tebow made 41 consecutive starts from 2007-09. Mertz battled Jack Miller III for the job in the spring and the early portion of preseason camp. Miller has been sidelined of late with shoulder tendinitis, but Mertz was already in the driver's seat.

Behind Mertz and Miller are second-year player Max Brown, transfer Micah Leon and walk-on freshman Parker Leise. Perhaps the most intriguing option behind Mertz is the veteran Leon, who has played at N.C. State and Connecticut prior to the Gators offering him an opportunity to continue his career.

"We are always looking for guys like him,'' Napier said. "Micah has proved to be very effective. He's smart, he's a student of the game."

Meanwhile, Mertz is expected to hand the ball off a lot to a talented backfield duo in his first season at Florida.

PROJECTED DEPTH CHART 
 

POS.	PLAYER	HT./WT.	CLASS	HOMETOWN/PREVIOUS SCHOOL
QB	Graham Mertz	6-2.75/218	R-Jr.	Overland Park, Kan./Wisconsin
QB	Jack Miller III	6-2.5/222	R-So.	Scottsdale, Ariz./Ohio State
QB	Max Brown	6-1.5/212	R-Fr.	Tulsa, Okla./Lincoln Christian
QB	Micah Leon	6-5/224	Gr.	Boynton Beach/UConn
QB	Parker Leise	6-2/218	Fr.,	Omaha, Neb./IMG Academy
POS.	PLAYER	HT./WT.	CLASS	HOMETOWN/PREVIOUS SCHOOL
RB	Montrell Johnson Jr.	5-11.25/217	Jr.	New Orleans, La./U of Louisiana
RB	Trevor Etienne	5-8.75/213	So.	Jennings, La./Jennings HS
RB	Cam Carroll*	6-0/231	R-Sr.	Flowood, Miss./Tulane
RB	Ja'Kobi Jackson	5-10.5/205	R-Jr.	Pensacola, Fla./Coahoma (Miss.) CC
RB	Treyaun Webb	5-11/213	Fr.	Jacksonville/Trinity Christian Academy

* Injured (see note below)


 

BEST PLAYER

Montrell Johnson Jr. or Trevor Etienne? Etienne or Johnson? Johnson enters the season as a potential 2024 NFL Draft selection and one of the top returning running backs in the SEC, rushing for a team-high 841 yards and 10 touchdowns a season ago. Still, Etienne is right there on his heels. Etienne is the smaller and quicker version of the duo, and in his first season on campus, showed he is not satisfied following in older brother Travis Etienne's footsteps. He wants to chart his own path. Etienne established his place as one of the building blocks for the Gators as they enter their second season under Napier. He rushed for 719 yards, six scores and averaged 6.1 yards per rush. Which one is better? You make the call.


NEWCOMER TO WATCH 

The plan a few days ago was to mention Tulane transfer Cam Carroll as a key piece of the backfield as the third back and a quality receiver (17 receptions at Tulane in 2021) out of the backfield. However, Carroll's season-ending knee injury in Friday's scrimmage wrecked that angle. The late addition last spring of junior-college transfer Ja'Kobi Jackson looms much larger in the wake of Carroll's injury. Jackson rushed for more than 1,300 yards in his time at Coahoma (Miss.) Community College and adds an experienced player whom likely will see more playing time than just on special teams.


FRESHMAN OF NOTE 

Treyaun Webb starred at Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville prior to signing with the Gators and figures into the mix as a true freshman. He rushed for more than 3,400 yards and 48 touchdowns in high school. With the loss of Carroll, Webb and Jackson are battling for third-team reps in the backfield. This is projected as more of a developmental season for Webb, but as Napier showed last season with Etienne, he will play a first-year player if he considers him ready.

"QUOTE"

"I feel like that would be pretty dangerous, having both of us on the field at the same time. You don't know who's getting the ball. You have to pick your poison." — Etienne on idea of being on the field at same time as Johnson

SUMMARY

Once Napier named Mertz the starting quarterback, the rest of the backfield puzzle was mostly solved until Carroll's season-ending injury at running back and Miller's sore shoulder offered Leon more reps. If Mertz can run the offense efficiently and the Johnson-Etienne duo continues to rack up yards, the offense could be as productive as last season despite Richardson's departure. As for the rest of the running back group should anyone else get hurt, veteran walk-ons Eddie Battle and Carlson Joseph offer depth, and newcomer Anthony Rubio, the son of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, has joined the running backs room.