Graham Mertz has been the starting quarterback for the Wisconsin football team for two seasons now. Coming into the program, Mertz was the highest-rated quarterback to ever commit to the Badgers.
Expectations for Mertz were sky-high, especially after his first start in a Wisconsin football uniform, where he completed 20-of-21 passes for 248 yards and five touchdowns. That performance certainly didn’t help ground Wisconsin fans’ expectations for what they had in Mertz.
He crashed down to earth for the rest of the 2020 season, but he had to deal with a weird covid season where there wasn’t a consistent schedule because games were getting canceled left and right. He was also reportedly nursing an injury for most of the season as well. So that season may be considered a wash.
But now in 2021, he had a clean slate and an offense full of weapons returning to the program. There would be no excuses for Mertz this season. Unfortunately for Mertz and the Badgers, Mertz’s performances continued to fall well short of expectations. He never looked comfortable in the pocket, his accuracy was off, and made plenty of ill-advised throws leading to interceptions.
His play has recently picked up, but that hasn’t made Wisconsin football fans feel any better about the future at the position. Apparently, the coaches must be feeling a similar way.
In a new article from Clint Brewster of 247Sports, he indicated that there have been whispers that the Badgers may be looking to give Mertz some competition via the transfer portal.
One of the names that Brewster mentioned is LSU’s, Myles Brennan.
From Brewster:
"Also in Big Ten country, 247Sports is hearing that Wisconsin will explore bringing in a quarterback to compete with starter Graham Mertz, who struggled at times this year and hasn’t produced like he was expected to. Mertz, a redshirt sophomore, has thrown six touchdowns compared to eight interceptions and completed 56% of his passes. Some of the highest-rated quarterbacks currently in the portal include Myles Brennan (LSU), Jacob Zeno (Baylor), Harrison Bailey (Tennessee) and Chubba Purdy (Florida State). A veteran like Brennan would make a lot of sense if he felt confident in winning that QB battle."
It would certainly be interesting if the Badgers did in fact bring a QB in from the portal, especially with Deacon Hill and Myles Burkett on the roster next season. If they did bring someone in, you’d assume it would have to be a one-year thing, otherwise, we could see some quarterbacks transferring out of the program as well.