Revisiting Kentucky’s decision to pursue Devin Leary over Florida QB Graham Mertz

With Will Levis considered one of the top quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL draft class and Liam Coen rumored to be returning to Lexington as offensive coordinator, Kentucky football was always likely to be a player in the top end of the transfer quarterback market.

Eventually Kentucky signed N.C. State transfer Devin Leary, who was ranked by multiple websites as the top quarterback in the portal at the time, but the quarterback who will face the Wildcats on Saturday originally looked like Kentucky’s top option.

When Wisconsin’s Graham Mertz announced he was entering the portal on Dec. 4, Kentucky was immediately linked to him as a possible destination. Even when the first reports of Kentucky’s contact with Leary emerged, Mertz was still seen as the most likely quarterback to land in Lexington.

Leary visited UK on Dec. 13 but informed coaches he would follow through on a visit to Auburn before making his final decision. With Leary’s choice uncertain, Kentucky hosted Mertz for a visit on Dec. 17

Three days later, Leary picked the Wildcats. Mertz eventually signed with Florida.

“There’s some very talented guys out there,” Stoops said on signing day in December. “We were fortunate that so many were interested in us. For myself even, that gets to be a little bit of an awkward situation because I have such respect for those guys.

“There’s so many really good players, really high interest in us. You had to juggle that. As I hope you all feel, I really try to be very honest and transparent with everybody. That gets tough in that situation, in that free agency, if you will.”

Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz visited Kentucky in December before the Wildcats signed Devin Leary out of the transfer portal.

Playing in different offensive systems with different teammates makes it difficult to make a head-to-head comparison between Leary and Mertz to evaluate Kentucky’s decision to prioritize Leary in the portal, but early returns have been positive for both UK and Florida.

Leary ranks sixth in the SEC in yards passing per game (265) and third in passing touchdowns (nine). Mertz leads the SEC in completion percentage (77.8%) and has thrown just one interception.

With Leary as quarterback, Kentucky is 4-0. With Mertz leading the offense, Florida is 3-1 with the lone loss to No. 10 Utah and one of the wins against a ranked Tennessee team.

There are reasons for concern for both quarterbacks through four games, too.

Leary ranks 13th of 14 SEC starting quarterbacks in completion percentage (59.3%) and has thrown the second-most interceptions (five) in the league. Mertz ranks 10th in the SEC in yards passing per game (237.8) and has thrown just four touchdowns.

“He’s been very efficient, very smart getting rid of the football and taking care of the ball,” Stoops said of Mertz on Monday. “In running their offense, he’s been very efficient. He’s playing very well.”

Leary’s résumé at N.C. State was clearly better than Mertz’s résumé at Wisconsin, but in some ways Mertz more closely fit the mold Coen and Stoops used when signing Levis as a transfer from Penn State two years earlier. Levis had an NFL-caliber arm but had been typecast as a run-first quarterback due to accuracy issues. Mertz had similar arm talent but had rarely translated it into consistent production.

At Florida, Mertz has been primarily used as a game manager. In the upset of Tennessee, he threw for just 166 yards. His only game with more than 24 passing attempts was the loss to Utah (44).

Despite Kentucky running fewer offensive plays than all but two teams that have played four games, Leary has attempted at least 25 passes in each game. Leary ranks second nationally in passing plays of at least 50 yards (four).

“Graham has made our team better,” Florida coach Billy Napier said Monday. “His work habits, his attitude, his practice approach, the way he prepares, his leadership. … The ball is going where it’s supposed to go.”

Ultimately, Kentucky’s decision to go all-in on Leary in the portal will be judged by the final record this season, not by the result in the head-to-head matchup with Mertz on Saturday.

The good news is regardless of Saturday’s outcome the fact that Kentucky is now seen as a viable option for top transfer quarterbacks speaks well for the future. Pursuing multiple talented options is an awkward balancing act Stoops and company might have to play again this offseason in searching for a bridge from Leary to four-star Lexington Christian Academy quarterback Cutter Boley.

No wonder, Stoops’ respect for Mertz remains high.

“Graham has done a really good job at distributing the football to playmakers,” Stoops said. “He’s just shown a lot of talent, he’s shown a lot of poise.”