Gators’ Mertz suffers ‘significant’ collarbone injury

Nov 19, 2023, 01:38 AM ET

COLUMBIA, Mo.– Florida quarterback Graham Mertz suffered a nondisplaced collarbone fracture in the Gators’ 33-31 loss to Missouri on Saturday night, coach Billy Napier said.Mertz, a redshirt junior, left a Florida possession one play after running for an initially down with an 11-yard run in the third quarter. He was replaced by redshirt freshman Max Brown, who finished 4 of 5 passes for 56 backyards and ran for 42 more on 7 carries in the loss.Napier, whose team was playing to get bowl eligibility, told press reporters that Mertz’s injury is”significant.”The transfer from Wisconsin will likely miss the regular-season ending vs. Florida State next Saturday. Must the Gators get approved for a bowl, he would likely miss out on that, too.”He’ll be out for a little bit,”Napier said.”Probably, we’ll have more information whether it’s surgical or not. I think today the belief is that it may not be. We’ll require to get more images before we make that choice. “Editor’s Picks 2 Related Napier spoke moments after Harrison Mevis kicked a 30-yard field goal with five seconds remaining, and Brady Cook finished 20 of 34 passes for

326 backyards and a goal in Missouri’s victory.Cody Schrader carried on 23 times for 148 lawns and a touchdown, Luther Problem III captured 9 passes for 158 yards and Mevis transformed all four of his field goal attempts as Missouri(9-2, 5-2 SEC, No. 9 CFP) narrowly prevented losing to an unranked challenger for the first time this season.Mertz finished 14 of 21 passes for 183 lawns and two touchdowns with an interception for the Gators (5-6, 3-5) before giving way to Brown.”Offer Max some credit,”Napier stated.

“Max settled in there a little bit and made a few plays. Clearly, he’s a good professional athlete and we had the ability to utilize his legs a bit and the

read game. He made some throws, as well. “The competition game with the Seminoles is now forming up to be a fight of the backups. Earlier Saturday, in a 58-13 win over North Alabama, Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis was hauled off the field

with an Aircast on his left leg.Tate Rodemaker, who spent the past two seasons as Travis’backup, got in the game and tossed for 217 backyards and 2 touchdowns for the Seminoles.The Associated Press contributed to this report.