Mertz enters the portal


Mertz had the skills but was in a very bad situation with Chryst as the OC, Rudolph as the OL coach and OC for one year, two or three different QB"s coaches, etc.
Fickell has stated he wants a dual-threat QB so the writing was on the wall for Mertz.
I hope he ends up somewhere where he can flourish.
As for Mertz, I'm not buying your explanation. Badgers have run the same offense for almost 30 years. I think their level of talent has been down a bit the last couple of years. The thing that made me laugh about Mertz is when he unveiled his logo at the launch of the NIL.

But if Fickell wants a dual threat guy, Mertz would have been holding a clipboard next season so the transfer is expected.
 











So... any predictions on who QBs the Badgers to their inevitable B1G Championship next season?

Cincinnati transfer?
If they go into the transfer portal, Brennan Armstrong could make sense.

Armstrong is an Ohio guy. Fickell offered him out of HS and he fits Fickell's mold - dual threat who is more of a passer. I'm not sure if he'll want to play his last year on a team on a potential rebuild, but maybe.
 






As for Mertz, I'm not buying your explanation. Badgers have run the same offense for almost 30 years. I think their level of talent has been down a bit the last couple of years. The thing that made me laugh about Mertz is when he unveiled his logo at the launch of the NIL.

But if Fickell wants a dual threat guy, Mertz would have been holding a clipboard next season so the transfer is expected.
The offense is mostly the same and depended on superior OL play. Multiple WI OL had been drafted in the past.
Under Chryst and Rudolph none or few were drafted over the last four years and two years ago Mertz ended up in the hospital because an OL whiffed a block. Chryst would run the ball into stacked defenses twice then have the QB in an obvious passing situation and face a blitz.
I am not saying Mertz is an NFL-caliber passer but he was in a bad situation.
Chryst should have been fired at the end of last year.
 

The offense is mostly the same and depended on superior OL play. Multiple WI OL had been drafted in the past.
Under Chryst and Rudolph none or few were drafted over the last four years and two years ago Mertz ended up in the hospital because an OL whiffed a block. Chryst would run the ball into stacked defenses twice then have the QB in an obvious passing situation and face a blitz.
I am not saying Mertz is an NFL-caliber passer but he was in a bad situation.
Chryst should have been fired at the end of last year.
Mertz was not in the best situation but he was also part of that bad situation. He's a bad QB, your team will be better without him.
 


Will he even get a P5 offer in the portal? Seriously - Notre Dame, Minnesota and Ok. State? I can't possibly think all those programs don't have much better options. CSU was terrible, so maybe that makes sense.
 

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Same here. Speaking of, no discounts on the red and white "official" merchandise just yet....

Thanks for the link. I'm not going to dump all over Mertz as I think this is more a product of the whole NIL thing. I don't have that big of a problem with the NIL, but I imagine we're going to see all kinds of goofy stuff emerge as a result.

I wonder how much merch Mertz sold?
 



I dont think Mertz will go somewhere he isn't the guaranteed starter. He lost to AK and he was tied for the 2nd best QB on the field that day with Wisconsins backup who I'm not sure completed a pass. He's even smart enough to look elsewhere.
 

The Twitter comments are gold
There were definitely some good ones in there. I think most Minnesota fans did a double take seeing us included in the list of potential destinations. There is no way our coaches are bringing in Mertz to play QB here.
 

I don't think it will happen, but it would not be a surprise to bring in an experienced QB.
I go back and forth on that one some. It would be nice to have some additional experience in the QB room but would think any QB who transfers in would want to start which I can't imagine would go over well with Athan who did enough in my opinion to believe he can be the guy next year.
 

Wonder if Fickell had a "difficult conversation" with him 😂
As in, he watched their tape over the last three seasons and figured out why this program suddenly started looking very average since the 2019 season.

Called him in and said "thank you for your efforts .... but we're done getting 'Mertz'ed' here".
 

Will he even get a P5 offer in the portal? Seriously - Notre Dame, Minnesota and Ok. State? I can't possibly think all those programs don't have much better options. CSU was terrible, so maybe that makes sense.
Yes a p5 will give him a shot because he was a high ranking recruit, but he will not be guarenteed a starting spot. He also has starting experience at a Big Ten school which is attractive to coaches, sometimes a change of scenery is good for a player
 

Will he even get a P5 offer in the portal? Seriously - Notre Dame, Minnesota and Ok. State? I can't possibly think all those programs don't have much better options. CSU was terrible, so maybe that makes sense.
I could see him getting a few offers but more of a backup situation.
 

There were definitely some good ones in there. I think most Minnesota fans did a double take seeing us included in the list of potential destinations. There is no way our coaches are bringing in Mertz to play QB here.
Didn't Mertz dad or Grandpa play here? Maybe that's why we're on this list. ANyways I very much doubt he goes to three of those schools but one of these choices isn't like the other
 




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