Spurrier discusses state of Florida program on Paul Finebaum show

[Luke Adragna]

Former Gators head coach Steve Spurrier spoke on the Paul Finebaum show today at Plaza of the Americas. He discussed a variety of topics, including the QB dispute, Napier and the state of the program. Here are some of the most significant things he said Friday afternoon:

 

[Luke Adragna]

Who will start against Texas A&M Saturday?

Spurrier: "Graham Mertz will probably start the game, I'm guessing. And then Lagway will get in there, maybe in the first quarter. And then after that, if you're the coach, you're saying, 'hey, which one's playing the best?' And you play him until he goes bad and then you put the next one in."

 

[Luke Adragna]

What's the advantage of starting Mertz?

Spurrier: "He's the older guy. He's the senior guy. He's been here, what, two, three years? So he's been around the guys a little bit longer. They're maybe more comfortable. But, they like DJ also. Let [Mertz] go out there first and see how it goes. But in the back of your mind, we know DJ's got to get in there sometimes, so just try to make a good decision on whether he gets in there."

 

[Luke Adragna]

What does DJ Lagway bring to the program?

Spurrier: "He's the quarterback of the 2020's. He can run, he can escape guys, and he's a natural passer. He's really a better passer than a lot of these family quarterbacks. As we saw last week in the highlight tapes, he was hitting guys on the dead run, deep balls all over the place, and the receivers finally got a lot of opportunities. And obviously, 467 yards I think he threw for. I think it was the fourth best in school history. So he's got to get in there, but if Mertz is doing well, they both might play about the same amount, just have to wait and see."

 

[Luke Adragna]

What do you tell fans when they ask you about the state of the program?

Spurrier: "I tell them, we need to do better, obviously. And at the beginning of the year, I really felt like [Billy]'s going to get the season. After the Miami game, a lot of rumors. You know how they come around. But, I really feel like nothing's going to happen this year. I really don't. I mean, we've got a lot invested in Napier and the staff and all these people, and he's going to get an opportunity to turn it around, and hopefully it'll be this year. I think we need to have winning season to get the fans back."

 

[Luke Adragna]

Who's at the top of the SEC?

Spurrier: "Well, obviously Georgia is the best right now. Nobody argues with that. I had Alabama right there next to them for a while. The preseason, they didn't look very good last week. But after that, Ole Miss and Tennessee are right there. They've got quarterbacks, they've got offense, and it seems like they've got better defense. Who knows what's going to happen down the road. We're only two weeks in. This is our first SEC game, so we still can win the SEC. We haven't lost an SEC game. Gotta go after it, right? We've got a chance."