Graham Mertz praises Billy Napier’s consistency, process-orientated approach as head coach.
Life in the SEC can be tough on players. It gets a whole lot tougher when your head coach is under the gun, feeling the pressure of the entire fanbase. Graham Mertz knows it.
He’s had a front-row seat this season to the pressure cooker that coach Billy Napier is in. At 3-3 overall, the calls for Napier’s job have been loud.
You’d hardly know it, talking to Mertz, who recently suffered a knee injury that will end his 2024 campaign.
“He has been amazing, man,” Graham Mertz said Thursday on the Paul Finebaum Show. “I mean I was just with him the day when I got my results back. Just being able to sit down and just talk to him and kind of reflect on my time here. I am so blessed that God brought me down to Florida and coach Napier was my coach, and being able to have that relationship not just when I’m in college but for life is big-time.”
Though Napier has a losing record at Florida, now two and a half years into his tenure, players are still playing hard for him. The Gators have been competitive more often than not this fall.
Grahm Mertz attributes that, at least in part, to Napier and his unflappability.
“Like I’ve said before, he’s the leader who sets the tone every day,” Mertz said. “He’s consistent. I’ve never met anybody more consistent than him. Just consistently brings that fire every single day, that love for the game, love for your team. And he shows us the right way to do.
If Napier’s going to survive long-term at Florida, he’ll have to produce better results in a hurry. Florida fans won’t content themselves long with .500 level play.
Still, Graham Mertz noted that Napier puts himself in a position to have success. That’s a lesson the veteran quarterback has since applied to his own life.
“So he showed me how you need to have a process in life, not only football,” Mertz said. “That’s one thing I’m forever thankful for. Because he’s been able to show us legitimate tools that you can take to your everyday process that makes you a better player but also makes you a better person. I’m so thankful that coach Napier was my coach that recruited me down here. He means the world to me, man.”
Graham Mertz will have to watch from the sidelines for the rest of the season, but he promises he’ll do everything possible to help the Gators going forward. By the sound of it, he certainly hopes Napier and company can turn things around.
Leave a Reply