1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …

They scouted 24, they got 1. Not just any 1, either.

They got Graham Mertz.

One quarterback and 1 decision that could ultimately bury a struggling program — or temporarily stop the bleeding.

“We’re getting an experienced player that’s got arm talent, that can process, and wanted to be at Florida,” Gators coach Billy Napier said last week.

What they’re getting is an early crossroads moment for Napier at Florida.

The sheer mathematics of it, combined with the understanding that there was no bigger need for Florida this offseason, makes it abundantly clear that Napier and his staff missed on quarterbacks while scouting 2 dozen from the transfer portal. Likely, many.

They also traded one headache (Anthony Richardson) for another (Mertz).

It’s the most important position on the field, the 1 position that can and will change everything for all involved — from wins and losses to recruiting high schools and the transfer portal.

And it’s still a crapshoot at Florida heading into Year 2 under Napier.

Hit with Mertz — a former blue-chip recruit who in 4 uneven years at Wisconsin vastly underperformed his elite recruiting status — and make a turn on the field that positively reinforces where the once mighty program is headed.

Miss with Mertz — who after throwing 7 TDs and 0 INTs in his first 2 college games, threw 31 TDs and 26 INTs in his next 30 games — and struggle again to reach bowl eligibility, and the gulf between the elite of the SEC and the Gators grows wider than it has been in the previous 13 years since the final season with Tim Tebow in 2009.

It’s not just that rival Georgia has won back-to-back national championships, or that Georgia and Alabama have separated from the rest of the SEC and college football. It’s the perception of change that the Gators face.

The perception that Tennessee has passed Florida. That LSU got the better coach when both were making critical hires after the 2021 season. That South Carolina, despite losing by what seemed like 12,000 points in Gainesville this season, is positioned better for the future.

While those perceptions are in a vacuum of sorts, they’re supported by reality on and off the field.

— LSU coach Brian Kelly arrived at the same time as Napier at Florida, and was thrown into a more difficult lift than Napier. In 1 year, he beat Alabama and advanced to the SEC Championship Game — and has out-recruited Napier at the high school and transfer portal levels.

The Tigers begin 2023 with 2 legitimate high-level options at quarterback (Jayden Daniels, Garrett Nussmeier), and landed the No. 1-ranked transfer portal class.

— Tennessee, which 2 years ago was left for dead after former coach Jeremy Pruitt was accused of multiple Level I NCAA violations and fired, snapped a 5-game losing streak to the Gators this past season, won 11 games and landed a top-10 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports composite (Florida was at No. 14).

The Vols begin 2023 with 2 legitimate options at quarterback, including former backup Joe Milton III — who dissected Clemson’s top-10 defense in an Orange Bowl win — and 5-star recruit Nico Iamaleava.

— Georgia signed the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation for 2023, and 3 of its top 5 signees (all 5-star players) were from Florida. More disturbing: 8 of Georgia’s top 12 players in this year’s recruiting class were from Florida.

Georgia will this spring decide between 3 blue-chip quarterbacks for its loaded roster: Carson Beck (also from Florida), Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton.

That, everyone, isn’t sustainable for any Florida coach — much less a coach who just took a flier on a quarterback who led his team a 20-13 record over the past 3 years despite the backing of an elite defense that finished No. 11, No. 1 and No. 5 in the nation.

The Florida defense over that same period: No. 97, No. 51, No. 83.

Are you starting to understand that sense of urgency with the Mertz decision?

Florida scouted 24 quarterbacks to find a replacement for the talented but enigmatic Richardson, and signed 1: The player who has completed 59 percent of his passes in 4 years, and averaged 6.9 yards per attempt.

To put that in perspective: Mertz’s completion percentage would’ve been lower than every full-time SEC quarterback in 2022 — except for Richardson. His average yards per attempt would’ve been 11th of 14.

Add the struggling Florida defense to that equation — and SEC defenses Mertz will face -— and the idea of Mertz playing quarterback at Florida is unsettling to anyone on the outside looking in.

2. A question of development

The key moving forward is development. Of not just Mertz, but any other quarterback on the 2023 roster.

Currently, there’s Mertz, Jack Miller — who was thrown into a difficult situation in the Las Vegas Bowl and struggled — and project Max Brown.

Before you parrot message board nonsense of Mertz not being developed at Wisconsin, understand that he was coached on a daily basis by Paul Chryst — one of the most respected quarterback coaches/developers in college football.

Chryst has a track record of coaching and producing NFL quarterbacks, including a future Hall of Famer (Russell Wilson) and 3 other quarterbacks who played in the league (Tom Savage, Scott Tolzien, Derek Anderson).

Think about this: There’s a reason Caleb Williams, this year’s Heisman Trophy winner, was considering USC, Georgia … and Wisconsin, after he left Oklahoma and eventually signed with USC.

So don’t hang Mertz’s development on Chryst, who frankly stayed too long with Mertz and likely lost his job because of it. Does that mean Napier won’t get more out of Mertz? The short answer is no.

The long answer goes back to Napier arriving at his first head coaching job in Louisiana in 2018 without a quarterback. It took him 1 season to figure out the guy no one really wanted — an undersized project named Levi Lewis — was the way to win.

Over the next 3 seasons, Louisiana went to 3 straight Sun Belt Championship Games, and won 1. In 3 seasons, Lewis had 78 TDs (13 rush) and only 15 INTs — and the Ragin Cajuns won 34 of 39 games.

Forget about what you saw last year with Napier and Richardson, that painful, hands-off/overly positive encouragement style of trying not to break a player’s psyche because he’s the only quarterback you have. That’s not how Napier coaches and develops quarterbacks.

He won’t be that with Mertz, or Miller or Brown — or whoever Florida may get after the transfer portal opens again on May 1 for 15 days. He’ll coach them hard, and he’ll have expectations.

If there’s anything you can take from landing 1 quarterback with an enigmatic history from the 24 scouted, it’s that.

3. The QB Quandary, The Epilogue

It’s not like Napier didn’t try to land other quarterbacks.

The Gators gave offers to Power 5 and Group of 5 quarterbacks, and scouted the FCS level. One Florida source says a deal with Tulane QB Michael Pratt (another state of Florida high schooler) was all but done — before Pratt decided at the 11th hour to stay at Tulane.

WKU QB Austin Reed, who threw for 4,744 yards and 40 TDs in 2022, was interested in transferring to the Gators. Another former Florida high school star, Reed was a lifelong Gators fan and led the nation in passing yards.

A source close to the situation says Florida passed on the 6-2, 230-pound 5th-year senior, who won a D-II national title at West Florida before transferring to WKU.

To recap: The Gators lost out on Pratt, passed on Reed and signed Mertz.

No matter how the process shook out for any of the 2 dozen quarterbacks scouted, Florida also had to look at its search realistically. Their resume to any portal quarterback searching for higher ground and/or a championship team, was a 6-7 season in 2022 and a mad rush for the transfer portal from more than 20 players.

It doesn’t matter why those players left Florida — on their own, or because Napier told them there was no future for them in Gainesville. The only thing potential portal quarterbacks saw was, at best, a program in transition. And at worst, in disarray.

There’s a chance Florida could pick up another quarterback after the May portal opening, but any addition will have missed spring practice and more than likely wouldn’t be an impact player, anyway — unless under odd circumstances.

In all likelihood, Florida’s quarterback in 2023 is Mertz, Miller or Brown — 3 guys no one really wanted.

We saw what happened the last time Napier used a quarterback no one really wanted.

“He loves the doubters,” a Florida source said of Napier. “It fuels him.”

He better love 1 of those 3 quarterbacks on the roster by the end of fall camp. Or there will be plenty more doubters lining up.

4. Next in line

Multiple outlets reported Tommy Rees will be the next Alabama offensive coordinator. The question: What exactly is Alabama getting?

In coach Nick Saban’s previous 8 OC hires, the move was either a fast-rising young assistant, or a former head coach from the NFL and college ranks.

Rees is none of those.

He just finished his 3rd year as the Notre Dame OC, and his quarterbacks — starters Ian Book, Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan, Drew Pyne — combined to throw 70 TDs and 21 INTs. The Notre Dame offense stalled somewhat this season, finishing its worst run in 3 seasons under Rees (396.2 ypg., 31.8 ppg.).

An industry source said Alabama coach Nick Saban interviewed and offered the job to Washington OC Ryan Grubb and Akron coach Joe Moorhead, but both decided to stay at their jobs. Grubb wanted to continue working with Huskies QB Michael Penix Jr., and return to a team that has Playoff potential.

The source also said former Florida coach Dan Mullen wasn’t interested in the job.

Moorhead, meanwhile, just completed his 1st season as head coach at Akron, and the timing wasn’t right.

The bar for Rees is clear: the national title. Every Tide offensive coordinator since Saban moved on from Major Applewhite after the 2007 season has won or coached in a national title game: Jim McElwain, Doug Nussmeier, Lane Kiffin, Brian Daboll, Mike Locksley, Steve Sarkisian and Bill O’Brien.

5. The Weekly 5

Five things LSU will take to reach the Playoff:

1. Settle on a quarterback: Jayden Daniels or Garrett Nussmeier — and don’t waiver.

2. The offensive tackles are set. Get stronger on the inside 3 core of the line to improve a running game that was 8th in the SEC in 2022.

3. Scale back on Daniels and the run game. Protect his body from absorbing so many big hits.

4. Find 3-4 dependable starting CBs. Syracuse transfer Darian Chestnut could play Day 1, as could heralded Texas A&M 5-star transfer Denver Harris and FCS transfer Zy Alexander.

5. Get a presence off the edge to alleviate double teams on Harold Perkins. Transfers Ovie Oghoufo (Texas) and Paris Shand (Arizona) could be the answer, as could freshman 5-star Dashawn Womack.

6. Your tape is your resume

An NFL scout analyzes a draft-eligible SEC player. This week: Florida G O’Cyrus Torrence (post Senior Bowl):

“A massive individual with quick feet, a powerful base and strong hands. I’ve scouted him all season, so what happened at Mobile wasn’t that much of a surprise. But boy, did he turn it up. He just dominated in 1-on-1 (drills) and team. He dropped about 10 pounds since his last game at (Florida), and he moved around better. It’s not like he was a plodder all year. He was the best run blocker in Mobile, and wasn’t really close. With that weight loss, he’s going to put up good numbers at the Combine and his personal workouts. He’s going to climb to mid-1st round.”

7. Powered Up

This week’s Power Poll, and 1 big thing: The missing piece filled by the May transfer portal.

1. Georgia: Cornerback or wideout. The Bulldogs are loaded but won’t pass on a strong potential starter.

2. Alabama: Offensive tackle. The Tide have 4 freshman signees enrolled, including 5-star Kadyn Proctor. An experienced starter is always an option.

3. Tennessee: Edge/linebacker. Vols could still add quality, fast disrupters in the front 7.

4. LSU: Wide receiver. Tigers have addressed the weakness in both recruiting and the portal, but won’t turn down a legit starter.

5. Mississippi State: Offensive line. New OC Kevin Barbay wants to run downhill with a strong passing attack. Bulldogs need to get better/deeper at guard and center.

6. South Carolina: Edge. The more pass rushers, the better.

7. Ole Miss: Offensive, defensive lines. Rebels need more tough maulers on both interiors.

8. Kentucky: Offensive tackle. The goal is to protect QB Devin Leary better than Will Levis.

9. Arkansas: Defensive back. Hogs did all they could to help the secondary (5 DBs signed, 2 added from portal), and would take a legit starter at any of the 4 positions.

10. Florida: Quarterback, edge. A 4th QB for competition, and an athletic and presence off the edge.

11. Missouri: Wideout. Tigers signed 4 WRs, and added another in the portal — but need playmakers outside to take pressure off emerging WR Luther Burden.

12. Auburn: Quarterback. A fit for the offense, or an experienced thrower who values ball security.

13. Texas A&M: Cornerback, wide receiver. Both areas were hit hard with portal defections. Both were addressed in recruiting and the portal.

14. Vanderbilt: Edge. They’ve tried for 2 years to improve the pass rush, and it’s a slow process (26 sacks in 2 years).

8. Ask and you shall receive

Matt: Has Arkansas reached its ceiling with Sam Pittman? — Patrick Gandlee, Dallas.

Patrick:

Don’t panic after 1 season of regression — if you can even call it a regression. The Hogs lost 4 games by 9 points, and all 4 of those games were a couple of plays from wins.

If you get 2 of those, you’re at 9 wins. If you get all 4 — which, again, was absolutely possible — you’ve got 11 wins and Pittman probably signs a lifetime contract.

The Hogs have to be more consistent defensively. Former DC Barry Odom did a solid job in his role, and helping Pittman figure out the nuances of the head coaching job. But his defenses were hit and miss in big games.

There’s 1 thing that did concern me about last season: the Missouri game. A rivalry game both teams needed, and Missouri was the more physical team and wanted it more.

Had the Hogs then blown that big lead to Kansas in the Liberty Bowl, that would’ve been a problem. But that statement of responding after giving up 18 points in the 4th quarter was impressive. They easily could’ve folded and didn’t.

9. Numbers

47. There’s no secret formula here. Want to know how Shane Beamer has turned things so quickly at South Carolina? Turnovers.

The Gamecocks have forced 47 turnovers in 2 seasons under Beamer, and the impact of turnovers — gains and lost — typically dictates wins and losses for the Gamecocks.

2022: 19 gained, 14 lost (+5) in wins; 4 gained, 13 lost (-9) in losses.

2021: 13 gained, 12 lost (+1) in wins; 11 gained, 12 lost (-1) in losses.

10. Quote to note

Florida coach Billy Napier on Mertz: “When you go back all the way to his high school recruitment, he was 1 of the top quarterbacks in the country.”