Wisconsin Football: Has Graham Mertz thrown his last pass for the Badgers?
Now that Luke Fickell is at the helm are Graham Mertz and the Badgers headed toward a divorce?
MADISON, Wis. – When the University of Wisconsin officially announced Luke Fickell as the 31st head coach of the Badgers, countless questions about the future of the program began to swirl.
Will coach Fickell overhaul the offense? How many of the current players will he try to retain? And amongst Badger nation, the most popular question is, are Graham Mertz, and UW headed toward a divorce?
Anytime a new coach gets hired, every player on the roster is in danger of becoming an afterthought under the new regime. However, quarterbacks are the most susceptible to being replaced, especially when they don't fit the new offense to a T.
It's important to note that nobody knows what will happen at QB, but I will tell you this, from the outside looking in, there appears to be a very real chance Graham Mertz has thrown his last pass in the cardinal and white.
Assessing Graham Mertz’ future with the program
Third-year starting QB Graham Mertz finished the regular season at UW posting career-highs in passing yards (2,136), yards per attempt (7.5), touchdown passes (19), and passer rating (135.0).
To help put his stats into perspective, here's a look at where those numbers ranked among the Big Ten: No. 10 in passing yards, No. 6 in YPA, No. 4 in touchdown passes, No. 7 - league average in passer rating, and No. 10 in total yards.
Despite his improvements, Mertz had a brutal final month of the season, throwing for just 513 yards (128.2 YPG) and two touchdowns with four interceptions on a paltry 45% completion percentage. I can acknowledge he was playing hurt, and I commend him for that. Still, if you're going to be on the field, you must produce - no excuses.
His inability to throw the ball down the stretch made Wisconsin painfully one-dimensional, and the offense as a whole wasn't good enough.
The Kansas native took a step forward in his development, just like the program needed him to - but was it enough to ensure his starting spot next season? Because I, for one, do not think it was.
His piss-poor finish left some within the fanbase calling for a transfer portal addition in the offseason to challenge Mertz - or even a clean break at QB altogether.
With coach Fickell taking over as the new head coach, it might be time for UW to look elsewhere for their next QB1...