Wisconsin Football: Would Graham Mertz transfer?

Jack Coan is the quarterback of this Wisconsin Football team, which means Graham Mertz will be on the bench for the time being. This has led many Badger fans wondering if he would actually end up transferring.

The Wisconsin Football team is off to a very hot start as they are 2-0 and have outscored their opponents 110-0. With a revitalized defense, Jonathan Taylor at running back, and Jack Coan commanding the offense, the Badgers have been incredibly dominant.

However, if we rewind to just a few months ago, many would have thought that it would be freshman phenom Graham Mertz who was leading this Badgers team to blowout victories. But that isn’t the case as Mertz is on the bench sharing the backup quarterback role with Chase Wolf.

Mertz stepped on to campus this past January as an early enrollee with lofty expectations to live up to. Coming out of high school as the fourth-ranked pro-style quarterback, Mertz is the highest-rated quarterback recruit that the Wisconsin Football team has ever had and he’s expected by many to take this team to new heights.

Yet, through the spring and fall camps, while we did see plenty of flashes from Mertz, it wasn’t enough to beat out the experienced Jack Coan who has been fantastic through the first two games totaling 564 yards with five touchdowns and a completion percentage of 76.3.

Obviously things can change in a hurry, but this is Coan’s job and that is going to leave Mertz on the sidelines with sporadic opportunities here and there. One of those opportunities presented themselves in the Badgers blowout win over Central Michigan.

With the game well in hand, Mertz entered the game and went 4/5 for 35 yards and led a scoring drive. While he put together a very nice drive, entering a game that has already been won as the backup was not the debut that many Badger fans envisioned for the star quarterback.

But Mertz seems very comfortable with where he currently stands and is aware that he is likely to redshirt this season (via Jim Polzin of Madison.com):

"““They said that really to use those four would be pretty sweet,” Mertz said. “I am redshirting. It’s more just getting my opportunity in those four games.”"

Although Mertz appears fine and is embracing the opportunity to learn before he takes over as the starting QB, many of the Badger faithful are concerned that Mertz will want to transfer out of Wisconsin like so many other college athletes do nowadays.

With that said, I just don’t see it happening. For one, Mertz had offers from just about every top-ranked football program in the country and chose Wisconsin. He knew the situation coming in and with an experienced quarterback in Coan already here, being the backup was always a very real possibility.

Second, I don’t see how transferring helps him. If he were to jump ship after this season, he would still have to sit the 2020 season out per NCAA rules. So the earliest he could start would be 2021. But if he stays, he will have the opportunity to once again compete with Coan next summer and even if he is the backup again, he has positioned himself to be a three-year starter at Wisconsin starting in 2021.

Of course, all of this is just speculation on my part but Jesse Temple who covers the Wisconsin Football program for The Athletic, spent some time with Mertz and his family at their Kansas home and had this to say on the matter:

"“Having spent some time with Mertz and his family in Kansas back in December and covering his story extensively for the past two years, he strikes me as someone with a level head and an understanding of the big picture. He trusts Wisconsin’s coaches, which is a big reason he chose the school when so many other programs were coming after him. He loves being at Wisconsin, and there is something to be said for that aspect. He carries himself with confidence, but not in a way that detracts from the team.”"

Pretty powerful words from Jesse Temple who knows Mertz and is around this Wisconsin Football team daily.

Everyone wants to see what Mertz can do on the field but sitting and learning early on in his career is not a bad thing at all. In fact, it could very well make him a better quarterback in the long run.

While I can understand the prospect of losing a quarterback like Mertz – who is supposed to help the Badgers reach the College Football Playoffs – can be a scary thought, it isn’t something that fans should be concerned about.