Florida QB Graham Mertz suffers season-ending knee injury vs. Tennessee; DJ Lagway to start for Gators

Football

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Image Credit: UAA

Florida Gators redshirt senior quarterback Graham Mertz effectively experienced the end of his college football career Saturday night after injuring his knee in the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers. Mertz has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL, and having exhausted his eligibility, will now focus on rehabilitation in hopes of continuing his career as a professional.

Mertz suffered the injury in non-contact fashion while regaining his balance after throwing Florida’s first touchdown of the game. His clean got caught in the turf, twisting his leg and sending him crumpling to the ground. He ultimately emerged from the locker room looking depressed in regular clothes with crutches as players and coaches hugged him.

“Thank you for two incredible years in Gainesville,” Mertz wrote in a statement after the announcement of his injury. “Unfortunately, I suffered a torn ACL against Tennessee and will miss the remainder of the season. During my recovery, I will remain a part of the program and do whatever I can in meeting rooms and from the sideline to help my teammates win. I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of support during this time.”

Mertz was widely panned during his career at Wisconsin and seen as a third choice when he initially transferred to Florida. In 16 starts with the Gators, he proved all of his doubters wrong.

Previously known as a turnover-prone, inefficient signal caller, Mertz completed 73% of his passes for 2,903 yards with 20 touchdowns and three interceptions last season. He did struggle in the 2024 opener against Miami but still completed 77% of his passes for 791 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions this season despite splitting time with freshman DJ Lagway over the last two games. Mertz also rushed for five additional scores at UF.

Suffice to say, he exceeded all expectations — and then some — since joining the Gators.

Head coach Billy Napier credited Mertz with being a consummate leader for a team badly in need of one, and teammates were quick to praise him similarly. Though Florida did not find much success on the field with Mertz under center, its win-loss record has hardly been his fault. Mertz played well enough on a weekly basis for the Gators to be more successful than their output.

Even this season with Lagway earning approximately one third of the snaps over the last two weeks, Mertz proved to be the better and more consistent player. No surprise, of course, given Lagway is a true freshman with limited collegiate experience.

“It’s only right for me to say how much I appreciate and am thankful for Graham in terms of all he has brought to the table on our team,” Napier said Monday. “Not only his production on the field but also just his impact on the team as a whole — his leadership, the work ethic, the example, the self-discipline. It’s been awesome to be a part of his growth and development and to see him get to the place where he’s been here lately. Graham has meant a lot to me, but I would also say he’s meant a lot to this program and certainly the University of Florida.”

Fans will certainly be excited to see Lagway take over the program given his athleticism, potential and extraordinarily high ceiling as the No. 1 QB in the nation out of high school. However, Florida will almost certainly be worse on the field over the duration of the season with it set to face the toughest schedule in the nation. (There are four games against top 13 opponents remaining.)