Florida Football: Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway aren't Chris Leak and Tim Tebow

Throughout recent Florida Football history, the Gators have employed two quarterbacks from time to time. In 1999, Jesse Palmer and Doug Johnson split reps against FSU. In 2012, Florida explored the idea of Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett. Even in 2020, the Gators were prone to have Emory Jones substitute for Kyle Trask.

But the most famous example of Florida employing a two QB rotation was in 2006 when Chris Leak and Tim Tebow helped lead the Gators to a national title.

With a potential QB controversy brewing in Gainesville and talk of a two QB system taking the field on Saturday with Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway, now is a good time to point out that the situation Florida finds themselves in now isn't exactly the same as the setup they had in 2006.

Florida Football: Twice As Nice

Part of what made Leak and Tebow such a dynamic duo was they had clear and defined roles for what each player was expected to do. Leak was the traditional QB while Tebow was, well, Tebow.

Tebow threw the ball 33 times during the 2006 campaign while running the ball 89 times for 456 yards and eight touchdowns. Essentially Tebow was a 235 pound backup runningback who was brought in whenever Florida needed to get a first down in short yard situations.

We have made our case as to why we think Lagway should be the starter on Saturday. Florida has a ton of speed in their wide receiver group and need a QB who can get it to them. As Miami demonstrated, teams can just play Cover 1 man against Florida without the fear of getting burned deep when Mertz is in at QB.

But based on what Napier has said, Mertz will probably start while Lagway gets rotated in. If the goal is to bring Lagway in as the "running QB" there is a pathway it can work but it also puts him into a box that doesn't align with who he was in high school.

Lagway is a capable runner, but he is not as reliant on his legs as Tebow was. Lagway ran the ball 99 times his senior year of high school while throwing it 402 times. During his senior year of high school, Tebow ran the ball 183 times while throwing it 340 times.

So this utopian vision that Mertz and Lagway are Leak and Tebow 2.0 isn't quite the case.

Plus, the only other time in his head coaching career that he entertained two QBs, Napier didn't make his backup "the running QB." In 2018 while at Louisiana, Levi Lewis saw action in every game and threw the ball 59 times for seven touchdowns while running it just 25 times for 40 yards.

So it begs the question, is Napier going to rotate QBs on Saturday because he has distinct plays in mind that Mertz can't do or is Napier going to rotate QBs for the sake of rotating QBs?

The cynical side knows that's a rehtorical question.

The hopeful and optimistic side just wants what is best for the team.

We will find out for real on Saturday, just don't hold your breath that it will look like a reincarnation of 2006.