GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The decision to name former Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz as Florida's starting quarterback for the opener came down to an attempt to avoid the Gators' third consecutive losing season.

The fourth-year junior threw for 5,405 career yards passing, with 38 touchdowns and 26 interceptions in 32 games as a starter for Wisconsin.

In the Gators' spring game during April, he completed 18 of 29 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown.

Mertz officially beat out Ohio State transfer Jack Miller for the high-profile job in Gainesville.

“We’ve seen enough,” Florida coach Billy Napier said before making his decision public after the team's first scrimmage at fall training camp. “The big thing I’ve been impressed with is just his ability to come in and learn the system, translate what he knows and apply that to our system.

“And then just relentless in approach. He’s probably worked as hard as any player on our team, probably as hard as a lot of players that I’ve been around in terms of the unseen hours.”

Napier's decision was hardly a surprise considering Mertz transferred to Florida under the guise that he would be the starter after the Gators lost Anthony Richardson to the NFL draft, released incoming freshman Jaden Rashada from his scholarship following a failed name, image and likeness deal,and also kicked Jalen Kitna off the team days after his arrest.

He's essentially a short-term solution for a rebuilding program that lost six scholarship quarterbacks — and one potential NFL star — in the past 12 months.

Mertz is widely considered a one-year placeholder while blue-chip quarterback commitment DJ Lagway finishes high school. Lagway, a 6-foot-2 Texan, is expected to enroll in January 2024 and be a plug-and-play starter for Napier and the Gators.

The Gators say they believe Mertz’s accuracy, experience and decision-making ability could offset what he lacks in athleticism and arm talent. In the spring game, he was "sacked" five times in the controlled scrimmage, and his lack of arm strength was evident with every deep throw.

But his experience in the Big Ten will come in handy when Florida has to open its season on the road against preseason No. 14 Utah, host 12th-ranked Tennessee in Week 3 and play at No. 5 Louisiana State on Nov. 11. 

In addition to Richardson, Rashada and Kitna leaving, Emory Jones (Arizona State) and Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (Syracuse) transferred last year, and the Gators withdrew a scholarship offer to four-star commitment Marcus Stokes (West Florida) in November after video emerged of him singing lyrics that contained a racial slur.

Napier hit the transfer portal to find help and landed Mertz, who has been lauded for his work ethic since arriving on campus in January.

“Graham’s done a great job, and he’s worked from the minute he pulled up in the parking lot until just a while ago,” Napier said. "He's continued to work to improve, so been very pleased in that regard. The level of professionalism here that I think is respected.”

One thing that will not help the Gators win this season is the fact that edge rusher Justus Boone tore a knee ligament and will miss the season. Boone injured his knee while celebrating a defensive play in Thursday's scrimmage. “This is a big deal,” Napier said. "This is one of our guys. He’s what a University of Florida football player should be. Ton of respect for him as a person and a teammate.”