Graham Mertz throws pick, appears to be injured in 4th quarter against Miami

Graham Mertz appeared to suffer an injury in the 4th quarter of Saturday’s game against Miami.

Mertz took a shot from Miami’s defense as he released a pass, which ended up being intercepted and returned well into Florida territory. Florida’s QB was on the ground for some time and ended up leaving the game. Backup DJ Lagway, Florida’s highly-touted freshman, is currently in the game.

Here’s the hit on Mertz:

Here’s the play that Graham Mertz got hurt on pic.twitter.com/UhCAaQ8YTs

— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) August 31, 2024

This has certainly not been Florida’s game thus far. The Gators are down 38-10 with just under 14 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. Florida’s offense had struggled with Mertz leading the way against a dominant Miami defensive unit – Mertz completed just 11 of his 20 passing attempts for 91 yards and 1 interception.

Last season Mertz was the most efficient passer in the SEC, completing 72.9 of his passes. Carson Beck out of Georgia placed 2nd with a 72.4% completion percentage. Lagway is the better athlete and has potential to be the more dynamic passer of the 2, however.

Florida’s 2024 schedule is about as difficult as it gets, and as of now there has been no word on Mertz’s status moving forward. Expect to hear more from Billy Napier following the conclusion of this game.

Ethan Stone

Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.