One-on-one with Florida Gators QB Graham Mertz | Trevor Etienne entering transfer portal

Gator breakdown because there's never a dull moment in Gator Nation the gator breakdown podcast is ready to go I'm your host David Waters you can find me on social media at Gator Dave and here we are hey look if you're watching the YouTube version live you can see him right here quarterback for the Florida Gator Graham merch joining us right here on Gator breakdown through Florida Victoria hey Graham thanks for hopping on Gator breakdown man yeah thanks for having me on I'm uh I'm looking forward to it so it's gonna it's gonna be a fun fun time together yeah first one like this through through a gator podcast there's a lot of us I think so I think yeah I mean obviously we do the we do media every week so it's a little little different a little more uh relaxed a little laidback yeah yeah exactly I've only got to speak to you once after a game I'm in the Press after the game I don't get to get to go I'm in Jacksonville so I don't get to go to Gainesville you know through the week and stuff but uh after games and stuff uh I'll be in there so but yeah that's the only time I've gotten to speak to you but now right here on Gator breakdown so one more time thank you for for joining us right here so everybody hit that like button subscribe to Gator breakdown right here as we spend about uh about a half hour or so right here with gr Merz FL Gator quarterback subscribe to Gator breakdown here on YouTube hit that like button really really goes a long way uh helping Gator break down out so first gram yeah I know you had a media session yesterday and stuff but for people who haven't seen that Gator fans who haven't seen that of course we just want to know how you doing after the injury how the recovery timeline is going man I'm doing great I'm doing great I mean recover is right on right on schedule so can't complain about that I mean obviously we got a great setup with our uh our Physical Therapy Group and all that everybody in there so I'm right on schedule doing great when's uh when's the next time you can throw a football I might have uh I mean to what extent Ser seriously throwing a football uh I don't know probably in the near future I mean I threw it around a little bit today but nothing nothing crazy yeah not I might have had my arm in a sling right here but uh still I had an itch to throw a football so they were at the end of uh at the end of therapy and treatment today let me toss it around a little bit which was uh it was fun yeah hey there we go as long as it's cleared we're okay we're okay oh yeah oh yeah uh hey let's let's go back to that night there Missouri for for a second before we move forward and man actually throughout the season you gained so much respect from from Gator nation and look I think college football too from getting hit time and time again and and getting up time and time again from a lot of those hard hits throughout the season but this play instead you brought the hammer and we're running over the Missouri Defenders and look little did we know what had happened looks like at the time you didn't know either was it as simple as the adrenaline kicking in and not feeling the pain right away until a play later yeah that's exactly what it was I mean I made the first the first hit and then got through there and I I was already fired up because I knew I got a first down and I mean I think it was like a third and six so had a big time in the game so knew I had to get it and then as soon as I got up from the hit I saw like the entire sideline players coaches everybody jumping around so so uh I was fired up man adrenaline was kicking uh and then the adrenaline quickly went away and I felt that uh on the next play so uh yeah I mean in the moment I mean it it was a blast something something I'll never forget so yeah like I said we uh hate hate hate what happened there uh of course and you know now we hope you're just on that recovery timeline like we were saying uh but as I said um just can't giv up man over and over again through throughout the season uh and you know we were hoping that was just a a small nothing because we've seen you get up so many times this season but you know not not not to be not to be there that night Missouri so let's go back a little bit well not a little bit recently last week you announced the decision to come back and you mentioned yesterday there's some stuff that's left on the table there's some unfinish business what gives you confidence that there's more out there for this Gator team next season I mean I think uh I think it's everybody I mean even fans fans coaches players I we all know what we want and we want to win and I mean I'm confident in coach napers his system in the the offseason program um and I'm looking forward to it's kind of different for me com back another year with experience in the offense because this time last year I was learning the offense so um I was kind of relying on just getting with the guys and throwing a little bit not really understanding the full play but understanding the route so I mean I'm I'm looking forward to uh really diving in this offseason and and having that that experience under my belt in the offense and uh yeah just leading the guys and and getting a little bit better every day and I think we're across the board we know that um we let some stuff get away from us this year and we might have shot ourselves in the foot a little bit so uh I mean we we went back and watched the tape and there was always a few plays every game that that altered it and I think the big thing is we know we can control it and that that goes throughout the entire offseason um and that's where we need we need everybody to buy into our process and we need to grow together and I think across the board the guys have that mindset where we don't want to have that feeling in the locker room after after a close loss I mean we don't like that feeling and I talked to the guys uh this last week when we had a team meting I'm like guys that feeling should that that should push you every day in the offseason when you're in a workout that's hard hard or some something's not going the way you want I mean that you got to you got to be able to channel that feeling and have that pull you through the hard days and mean I think across the board the the guys don't like that they don't like that feeling and and that's the that's the biggest driving force that the guys just want to win and and this team's hungry or young they they had that experience and they don't want to experience that again you you mentioned coach nap you're there if if there is part of this that you can share was there a message from him you know what was his reception of your decision to come back yeah I mean I met with him multiple times um mean there was probably not during the Florida state week I mean obviously I wasn't playing so that was kind of on my mind um but I wanted to wait till after that week to sit down and talk with them but we we talked multiple times about um all the options which was was the NFL was coming back um and I mean it was great and it was he was a sounding board for me I was able to really talk through all these different points that I wanted to get through and you I think the biggest thing is that I put it in my post um and he's not g go out there and say unfinished business but but I'm I'm confident doing it because I feel that way and I know that across the organization that's the feeling and and there's so much more left on the table that uh not only the players and staff and everybody in that building wants but but Gator Nation wants as well so um we're we're going to work like crazy this year to ensure that sounds good sounds good gr let's go back to to last year and before the season all the talk was hey it didn't work out at Wisconsin now he coming to Florida he's coming to play in the SEC hey there's no way it'll work it's harder in the SEC um look and I remember looking at preseason magazines before the season there's a list of 15 transfer portal quarterbacks and grah Merz is 15th and I'm like oh come on now I me there there's no way um I couldn't understand you know you being ranked 15th on the list like that and all you do is come in the SEC you have your best season yet was that I mean I know you from getting to know you a little bit these last few months I know that wasn't your driving motivation but was there some motivation from all the talk from coming to Wisconsin and going to Florida and not working out to your bottom on the list of transfer portal quarterbacks was it was there some motivation there yeah I mean I think I think that's a there's a lot that goes into that question and that answer I think uh I mean I think anybody that looks back at my career at Wisconsin they would say it didn't work out and I think on my end on the football end that that I I would say the same I mean I'd say I didn't I didn't maximize my time there I didn't play my best ball there um but I will say that that experience turned me into the the man I am today and I'm forever thankful for that and the people there the way they influenced me they showed me how to do it the right way um so at my time there I mean I learned a lot and I'm forever thankful for that because it it shaped me into who I am today and uh but yeah I mean you enter the portal and at that time I the portal is different from that point last year at this point now right now I mean it's it's grown it's evolved it's changed but I mean at the time there there were a lot of guys in the portal um and I I took a bunch of visits and uh when I came down here I mean as as far as the I mean I always talk about uh our coach's process and and how they line it up for us and and how you when you buy into it you grow and I think the biggest thing was they laid out a plan in front of me they laid out my strengths my weaknesses how to improve my weaknesses all this stuff and I mean from the start I knew that it was a it was a year of work and I was ready to go all in on it so I mean I've never really been a big external um motivation guy I kind of always find it uh inside and and through the people around me and I think that that's the that should be the driving force and that's why I always H the gu guys on like guys there it's always good to look at stuff and then see it but you got to be motivated for by the people in the room and the people around you and yourself and uh so I mean my biggest thing this year was um I wasn't I wasn't just like thinking about stats or thinking about playing good I mean I just I wanted to do everything I could to to help out those guys in that locker room those coaches the across the board the strength staff I mean everybody in there I mean I think that's where that's where you that's where you free yourself up to play your best as when when you're not playing for yourself I'll say I'll say maybe a little bit for a little bit of chip on the shoulder oh chip I think that I think that's hethy I think everybody should have have some form of chip on their shoulder good deal good deal Graham where do you feel like you improved the most as a quarterback as we go through the from game or I mean what spring practice fall Camp game one to game 11 to to Missouri what do you feel like you know on the field that you that maybe that wasn't at Wisconsin or maybe that you improved on from Wisconsin to now where do you feel you grew the most oh gosh um I think the biggest thing where that that I saw the growth and this I always do this man you gota stop me from doing this but I always talk about the process okay and me it was the whole year leading up to fall camp and um for me it was it was the amount of reps I took whether it was on in the film room just throwing a football taking drops working on my mechanics um and then it was getting to know the guys and so for me it was it was a holistic approach um that led to on the field being able to be more efficient take care of the ball move the sticks um and and you want to finish drives and and be efficient on third down so I think the holistic approach of really buying into your individual process is what evolves onto the field and and frees you up to go play Confident go play free so I mean I think the biggest thing this year was was taking care of the football and and obviously um had a few sack fumbles and I'm already addressing those and in preparation for next year and two hands on the ball moving through the pocket so um I mean I learned a lot this year about about my game and how I can how I can constantly be evolving constantly be improving so I'm looking forward to H another year of it yeah man I mean that you you mentioned it the the interception numbers way down uh there and I was got like you said probably just com ability uh another year of football but as you said and we heard it from everybody as soon as you come in and it's the things we want to hear in the in the locker room in the in the film room you know being the leader that you know we wanted to hear about and you know we heard those things from day one it does certainly look like it paid off there for you so I appreciate yeah man we we excited to excited to see that next step we'll get into that too just a second but we'll get off let's get off the field for a sec you know this interview is being brought To Us by Florida Victorious uh and you've you've been a big proponent uh and a member of Florida Victorious there as a student athlete and you said yesterday in a media session that nil really didn't influence your return um you know but there is a great entity there at Florida with Florida Victorious that you've been involved with and how has that experience been and then like if a new player is coming into Florida and they're looking for an opportunity in nil and their Florida Victorious is there what where I mean why why would you tell them to take part Florida Victorious I think it's a great thing I think it's a great thing I mean the biggest thing that that I take away from it is the people that I've met the people that are surrounded the people that are in that group um they're awesome and and their relationships that I have have met them one time and now I I keep up with them and I I stick together with them so I think the biggest thing in that is that it's a it's a great thing for us I mean we appreciate it a ton um and it's it's so fun being around your teammates in different environments and interacting with people that that are fans that that work at different areas so for me I think the biggest thing has been the being able to put yourself into the community and meet these amazing people that are in the Gainesville area so it's it's been an absolute blast I I guess going to that too do you feel like as a transfer coming in I guess this cop probably could speak for a freshman as well do you think it endeared yourself to Gator Nation probably a little faster than if you didn't do things yeah I mean I think a ton of different ways I I think my my first experience was I I was working with um Habitat for Humanity down here and we met the the future owner of the house and she was a huge Gator fan and like at the time like no one no one knew who I was or where I was coming from but it was just I just saw how Juiced up she was about Gator football and and Gator Nation so for me I think it's great to coming from a place that has great tradition um in Wisconsin I mean getting to a new place and learning how passionate people are about Gator football in the entire University I mean that that fuels you even more in your work to uh to want to to want to go out there and put out a good product for them grma how is it working with the the leadership at Florida Victoria and you know maybe the message they send you guys about maybe the importance of nil and doing it the right way yeah I think that's everything and I think uh I mean they they do so much for us and whether it's financial literacy or all this all these different ways of teaching you how to be smart with with your money I mean I think that's I think that's huge especially in today's world where um there's a lot of different factors that come in and can uh can confuse you sometimes they do a great job of educating us on what's going on how to be ready for certain certain things that come up so I mean I think the leadership in that uh in that group is fantastic across the board I mean I think they do a great job job of giving us great opportunities to go out there and meet people and and put ourselves in the community and be fully immersed in the Gainesville area so I mean I I have nothing but absolute great things to say about those people awesome awesome and guys hey look guys out there you can be the difference as well through Florida Victoria for the first time ever you can directly impact the outcome on the field by joining Florida Victoria want to help the gator win want a better game day experience well just like when you pack the swamp your unwavering support through Florida Victorious empowers the gator to be their best so join today you can be the difference in making the orange and blue Victorious you save 20% with promo code Gators BD link is in the description to join Florida Victoria so gra let's get back to it and You' kind of briefly mentioned it here but we've just talked about some stuff on the field for you what is the next step for you this Gator offense what steps do you want to take what steps do you want to see this offense take yeah I mean I think there's a lot of stuff um I think across the board I mean we all know that we need to take a step um like you just said and for a lot of different people that's a lot of different things but I know on my end it's it's being able to be better in any sense I can for the guys around me and I think that like I said earlier this offseason is going to be huge being able to be in the uh be immersed in the offense understanding how a whole season played out and how different things work off of each other um I think being able to bring that to the table and and from day one as soon as we get back in in the winter and we start working out being able to speak the language of the offense and really push these guys to to get better and and learn it quicker so I mean I think that we're looking forward to just just getting back to work and I mean that's that's the main focus of everybody on this team right now okay if there if it is right I guess one angle of the offense that I think is probably brought brought up the most is maybe the the downfield passing aspect so what did you see this season from that were there more opportunities is that a place to be better to get better uh as maybe one of those next steps in this offense yeah I think so and I think there's a lot of different um aspects that lead to that and I think that like I always think back to what I can do better um in that sense and I I think across the board it's uh on my end it's being better in protection I'm getting us in the right call picking up bles um and then obviously just taking my one-on-one matchups giving them giving them their best shot to make a play and and getting it in their radius so I mean that's definitely an area of focus and definitely an area that we're gonna we're g to work this offseason on good deal so all right GM I got to know this this one you probably have a little bit of fun with this one but coming from the Big 10 you played in some great college football atmospheres very cold that's that's true too that's true hey this is a different kind of weather you had to go through for that's that's another before we do go for how was that like were you how were those July August swampy Camp days very Swampy the humidity was just my my first experience I came I came down in like January and I was g in in February and I'm like oh my gosh it's so hot and then I think it was like Austin Barber we were on the course he looks at me he like I'll just wait buddy and once we hit Camp I was like okay this is this is the humidity we were talking about so took me about a week and and a lot of water balls water bottles later of uh getting used to the humidity so it was definitely a uh definitely a learning curve but but we we got through it all right so then now you got to get through fall camp and you get to the season how do all those big 10 great atmospheres how does it compare what you just went through the last month whether it be a home game at the swamp whether it be on the road Death Valley LSU or hey even for the first time you probably played in a unique atmosphere like Florida Georgia in the neutral site there here in Jacksonville so if you could go you maybe through all those three this what was it like playing in the SEC this year the big home game versus Tennessee and the big win and how all that played out you know how was your first experience in the SEC I mean it was awesome it was awesome I mean I think I I'll think back to uh Big 10 for a second but I mean across the board I mean the thing that I appreciate the a ton is being able to play in two great conferences and in two historic conferences so I mean I've played in pretty much every Big 10 Stadium on on the west side and then uh coming down here I mean every game was just electric no matter where we were at so that was that was always uh it was a blast this year just just seeing all these different places and I mean I've played in I've played in multiple stadiums in the past a few times so for me it was getting that new Taste of of different game day environments and just the passionate fans across the board in SEC was uh it was a blast did Death Valley LSU that did that live up to the reputation oh yeah yeah Death Valley definitely lived up to it that was a that was a fun one um what was the experience like the Tennessee win I me I know it was kind of long ago but that was probably you know definitely the the biggest home game atmosphere when it was so much ramped up and it played out that way was that memorable moment for you this past year oh yeah I think for me that was uh that was probably my most memorable moment this year um and I think just across the board it was uh all those plays just staying out of my mind a guy just out there making plays and having fun I think about uh Trey I think about K Jack's catch I think about all all these guys that just went out there and played free and had fun and uh that's definitely a memory that that we'll never forget together so uh and the swamp was rocking I mean that was that was an experience in and of itself is just being able being sitting on the sideline watching our defense out there and not being able to hear the coach right in front of me was uh that was a first so that was definitely a definitely an awesome experience you know all the lyrics that won't back down yet oh yeah did you know it before I did not okay and then this is actually a funny story so I didn't know it and then uh I was walking in the locker room one day and it said like won't it just said won't back down on the wall and then it said Tom Petty I'm like okay I'm like is that the song they play because I'm used to jump around true yeah okay there we go yeah I didn't put that together but yeah another good tradition there yeah yeah and and I kept seeing these videos like in in early early January February of guys like singing I'm like oh that's cool like they got a song and I really started like looking at it I'm like this is sick so then I uh like all fall Camp I mean I'd wake up and I'd play that on my way into the facility um and it slowly uh became my one of my favorite songs and then one of your first you know big time in the swamp moments finally the LED lights and they turn all the lights off and the phones are lit up I mean it yeah pretty good yeah but I tell you what I was I didn't know so I can't remember what the what was the first home game was that mcnees MCN yeah so we scored the first touchdown and I thought there was like a power outage for I didn't I didn't know they were going to do that whole light show thing but so I was shocked at the start and I was like whoa whoa whoa and then I I figured it out second but I figured it out and I thought that was sweet so that was something G has been asking for for years so uh oh yeah yeah I'm gonna give you credit it was your first year gr merch brought the LED lights there we go oh yeah uh gr how involved are you and will this expand in the actual game plan uh through a week um is there a typal like what's a typical week like of of install and is maybe going through your conversations with Billy Napier recently is that something that will grow more your second season in the offense and one player I want you know we don't get to hear a lot of but I see you talking to on the sideline a lot and I know he's really integral behind the scenes is r oara and the the role he plays yeah I mean the biggest thing and we kind of always uh were we work together during the week on this and just communicating on uh little little intricate details of of certain plays so I mean we we start on Sunday we get a we get an install and then uh every day you'll get an install of new things and we'll go through talk through what we like um talk through the different looks that we could see um and talk through maybe maybe a slight change in in where the either the protection or where the running back's checking down so um there's a lot of a lot of details that go into the week and the biggest thing I appreciate is just the open communication about about the plan and um it allows us to to work together and and figure out what's best for for the offense so it's uh it's always a blast in the in the week of prep few more minutes right here with grem Merz and hey one player I think uh will you'll be throwing the ball to a lot next year and really came on true freshman wide receiver Trey Wilson as this season went on we saw the increase of usage you especially this first drive of games how fast did you know he was he was going to be that guy so I actually just talked about this this is this is funny so he came in in the summer so he came in he wasn't like a midyear guy um and everybody I kept getting like little subtle hints like oh yeah just wait just wait till you see that guy in pads and I was like okay like I'll I'll see and then uh because he he was banged up a little bit I think he had like a hand week or something so he wasn't really doing workouts um and then we get into the camp and I think for the first day he might have been I don't know what what he was doing he might have been out the first day or two too and then he came back and I I threw him like an out route or something and so he caught the pass and stuck I think he stuck his right foot in the ground and just spun around housed it the fir the first ball I threw to him and I remember just looking back at coach and being like oh you weren't lying about that guy and and he he thought that was funny so I mean I knew after that I was like all right we got to get this guy The Rock and uh but yeah I mean the biggest thing I saw was throughout the year just his growth of understanding the offense um understanding his role in it and and how to how to really just maximize his touches and that was one thing that I mean I think back to just the ball the two what was it the two balls I threw to him in the first drive of Georgia I mean he just playing fast playing free um trusting his skill and uh I think that's one thing for him that if he if he just trusts his skill and plays fast I mean there's he's pretty freaking good so I'm looking forward to uh I'm looking forward to another year of of growing together and growing that chemistry of U just knowing where he's going to be at and and feeling that out and and just uh growing in the offense together so that'll definitely be fun with Trey yeah man that first ball you threw to him for the first touchdown against Arkansas oh yeah that was I don't know if I'm lying or not but to me that might have been your best throw I mean just take that I'll take that I was fired up the placement the zip I mean where it had to be I mean that was I was I was up in the Press SP wow wow there we go was that was a fun one and funny thing was like I hadn't I hadn't thrown that ball to Trey the whole week and and we a bunch I think that I think I was throwing it to I think that ball I was thrown to Ricky like the whole week we were like all right this is gonna be so you're gonna go to and they they switched spots on that one and I was like okay and Trey it was a Savvy play by Trey actually so if you go back and watch it um I think it was like the flat Defender the safety was outside of him he had like a little out and up so he ran the out and then just kind of gave him a little shake and just took it with speed up vertical because he was outside of him and I was like I've never seen a freshman think on the fly like that so it was actually like feel like I was throwing like a a 60-year senior receiver that just felt it out and then but he just was a Savvy play by him and that just goes to show that when he plays fast it's hard to cover that dude like I wouldn't I wouldn't try to cover him hey there was another player that was hard to cover this year for Florida but hey what is Florida going to miss the most about Ricky purol and all the catches and all the leadership that he brought and also on the the unfortunate news and Har him you want to go into it Trevor etan transferring away what would the him be out of the offense you know mean for this offense as well missing Ricky peaw and now missing also Trevor eten yeah I mean first I'll start with Rick uh I mean the biggest thing I'm going to miss is just that's that's my dog man I mean he's my he's my best friend he'll be my best friend for life so him him not being here will it'll be different um but I mean on the field I mean that's a guy that just complete playmaker in every sense I mean i' we'd always have we had a running joke where I would be like all right Rick where do you want me to put that ball like I'd go to him after I threw him a ball and he just made a crazy catch like okay where do you want me to put it and he'd always go anywhere around here and give me like a wide arm and so that that was the biggest thing with him was like I knew anytime I put it around him like he was going to catch it and uh and he and he was going to make that play he had that fire and and he's a competitor and I think that's one thing that the young guys in the room learned from him is that just the type of competitor he is I mean he he never never backs down as Tom Petty would say um and he's just he loves ball he loves this place and and he went all in on on his on his process and I think the guys saw that and and they're able to take things from that and apply it to theirs so I think his leadership was was just just fantastic in that room and on the team so we're definitely going to miss Rick I mean overall he's just he's a great guy great teammate great player um so he he was definitely definitely be missed but I'm definitely be wearing his phone out like every day um and then yeah I mean just Trevor I mean he's he's he's just a special player and that's something that I mean he's got that in his veins he was born with it and and he grew it in in his time here so we're definitely going to miss that um and and yeah so those are two key pieces that are going to be different um and we're going to have to work together as a team to to figure out how to how to fill those voids all right Graham I ask every player this before I let him go Billy nefer is going to come to you and he says Graham all right you're gonna pick the uniform we're going to wear tonight so what color helmet what color jersey what color pants is gr Merz going to roll out of the swamp with I think I think there's only one answer now okay I think I think after I mean obviously we didn't we didn't end the game we wanted to but those black uniforms man that black helmet was just it was just wild man I mean that's that's the best uniform I ever put on in my life there we go there we go did you ever wear black at Wisconsin oh never okay I black was uh was in high school state championship Blue Valley North and up so then you got you got to take part in Florida for the first time doing it we go all right gra hey man before I let you go um good buddy longtime listener of gader breakdown gger breakdown plus member as well C Harris sent me something I just had to share with you his six his six-year-old daughter Savannah made a thank you note for her favorite players there you are at the top uh here it is she says hi thank you for the season and get well soon from Savannah Harris so well thank you Savannah that that that's awesome yeah for sure for surey that's that's what G Don nation is all about that's uh I think you've learned in the in the year that you've been here well I mean I got to say one thing because I don't get this platform a lot um I just want to say and to all the gator Nation tuning in I mean I I appreciate all the I mean all the support throughout the year for this team I mean I know we're hungry I know you guys are hungry um and I know that we're going to get to where we want to go so we appreciate everything all the passion all the love I mean we're just as passionate we love this thing just as much as you guys so my promise to you is that I'm going to give it everything I got and I'm going to lay it all on the line for this year I only got one of them so I'm gonna give you everything I got so uh yeah appreciate appreciate back to Savannah appreciate the letter uh that was that was really sweet hey good de man all those words you just said we we know we know what comes from the heart we know you mean it man like I said we saw you get up time and time again and and be the leader all throughout this year that you were at the quarterback spot for the Gator so hey congrats for a big season get well soon and like you said hopefully even even more next year for Gator Nation well I appreciate that time thanks for having me this is fun yeah man Graham thank thanks so much hope hopefully we can do it again oh yeah we'll do it again come on we got a whole year there we go there we go all right Graham thank quarterback for the Gator gr merch joining us right here on Gator breakdown thanks man all right thank you all right hey good stuff right there quarterback gr merch for the Gator man that was good that was some good stuff there big big thanks to him big thanks to Florida Victorious once again uh for for allowing and and setting that up um thanks University of Florida as well for for for all their help uh in setting that up a big time get right there for for you get the quarterback right here um for all you loyal Gator breakdown listeners and hey join join us live there too so once again big thanks Big thanks uh oh yeah so we'll get into it guys too as well I know we're we had set this up before the news had come out but you know there's no surprise really if you have followed um Gator's breakdown if you follow social media dating back to really last week but maybe behind the scenes even the works even more than that about Trevor etn running back for the Gator hit the transfer portal of course um can't go by without talking for that or talk talking about that and you it it things it's certainly really really stings there you saw you heard just Merz there talk about you know the type of player he is and how he's going to be missed how they got to replace him uh next year and I think you a lot of the question that comes out is why um I think for for etn maybe a chance to go maybe win some more ball games you he'll be in his third year next year and um could be his last year at college football and so maybe sees another opportunity there to to win more games somewhere else I know nil and money will be brought up and I'm sure that plays a part but look I his brother's in the NFL there's that NFL money there he's etn himself Trevor Has Done really well for himself in the nil world at Florida so I'm sure he'll get rewarded handsomely at his next stop too but I don't think that's the drive driving Factor here and I know splitting carries is maybe a part that gets brought up you know that's an argument too maybe he should have gotten more but it's not like he's going to be a Workhorse elsewhere and not not many places do that anymore so now it's just um you know is it just a matter of getting more touches okay um but you know I won't doubt that plays a maybe small part as well but for my understanding it's all you know trying to go get some wins and what might be his last year of college football from my understanding and that's just where things that I can put together things that I'm being told U so but you know the bad part of that about this is you know Billy Napier coming into Florida choosing to tear this thing down to the ground level and build it back up and now you don't get to see that pay off with a player like Trevor etn I mean a lot of good plays the last couple of years he's supposed to be a big part of what is going to be a critical year three for for Billy Napier and you're losing one of those foundational pieces of the rebuild now you got to replace that you got to find a way to replace it it does make it harder doesn't mean you you can't overcome it but it's going to make it harder um and you know the plan was a rebuild and the first couple of Seasons may be rough because of it well you need to see one of those players you need you need to see that payoff and not we're going to see payoff anymore that one of those key pieces are gone um so you know Neer chose to build by getting his players in and giving them lots of reps not only to see one of those best of that scenario head elsewhere and somebody else get advantage and take advantage of the development and the playmaking ability of Trevor etn a guy that you were going to count on uh through a rebuild so you know a player like this was supposed to be the payoff to all those reps to young guys um now I've heard some expr out there that this isn't a big loss and I'm going to disagree with you I think it is um I know overall the running back position is not as valuable as it once was in the game of college football but in Billy naer offense it is uh and no doubt he's one of the one of the better players on the team or what was one of the best players on the team and I keep seeing knocks on him and his pass protection and okay all right well should be the perfect player out there uh right now there's not many of them everybody's got their flaws um and he was able to overcome those uh a bit and show me the teams that are interested in him and I think you know the word has starting to leak out already even before he announced that if he was going to announce that a team like Georgia would be a team he might go to and now it's starting to come out Ohio state Alabama maybe even LSU in the mix and that's teams that have played for SEC championships the last couple of years in the college football playoff and those teams want Trevor etn so you know kind of miss me with the whole he's isn't good or isn't good enough and can just easily be replaced I hope he can it won't be easy but he's still the best proven playmaker Florida had out of that back field and I know him and Johnson's stats are very similar and look I've defended Montreal Johnson a lot more than than most but still you know while the stats may be similar they the way they get there is a little different and etn is just that threat to hit a home run when the ball's in his hands and maybe if he gets a few more touches a game you get a few more explosives or a couple more explosives a game so all in all to me it just it just kind of makes this rebuild harder uh we'll see who they replac him with as did mention montre Johnson Kim Carroll would be back hopefully next year how much will he bounce back from that injury of course you got trayon Webb as well who showed some flashes uh there of course you know he wasn't going to get the same freshman opportunities that Trevor etn got the year before because of what Trevor etn was and you had Monro Johnson and Trev etn in front of him so maybe there's more there that we just didn't get to see because he had two really good backs in front of him we saw some flashes uh there so hopefully that pays off and we'll see what Florida does you Kan and Daniels committed right now they're going to be going after um you know some other running backs out there and they may get some news on that pretty soon as well for the 2024 class so we'll see how far the you know replaces Trevor UT I'm not saying he's not replaceable somewhat it's just he's one of the better players on the team it's not just as simple as oh we're just going to replace him it it to me it's not me now maybe Florida changed the offense a bit maybe with gr Merz Florida opens up the passing game a bit more to where a player like Trevor etn the value does go a you know down a little bit more if you're throwing the ball a little bit more or you better weapons are outside um are there over are there ways to adjust certainly certainly there are but I think P way you don't get better by losing a player like Trevor etn that's just the way I'll go and in that one so there we go there we go really good episode had gr Merz on here good stuff not so good stuff with the news of it wasn't a huge surprise you know you a lot of people wanted to accuse us of making some fake headlines the last week or so and trying to get noticed or whatever but no you you guys know I don't that's not the way I operate not the way I work if I'm going to talk about it l there's a legit reason to talk about it we've been talking about etn and the potential of him hitting the portal um and flid was doing everything they can to make sure it didn't happen but in the end Trevor ATN will be hitting the transfer portal so all right there we go there we go and maybe we'll see what Florida does um visits piling up this weekend a couple more uh transfers I know are heading in this weekend as well so missling to last episode of Gator breakdown with will and I you gotta you know make sure I think for a lot of these transfers get them in early get them in on those early weekends because they don't usually take too many visits before deciding I think a lot of that of course to do with tampering a lot of these guys knows where they're going before they even hit the portal uh but you know if some of these guys don't and you get these early visits FL to make these early visits pay off so all right good episode right here everybody thanks for hopping on hope you enjoyed the interview with gr merch give us a like subscribe if you haven't done so yet go join Flor Victorious help that nil help those players like gr Merz and that'll do it for this episode of Gator breakdown I'm your host David Waters you can find me on social media at Gator Dave guys and girls out there thank you for joining me on this episode of Gator breakdown