Florida redshirt sophomore receiver Marcus Burke streaked down the sideline. His quarterback — redshirt junior Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz — rolled right and spotted the Jacksonville product down the field.
Freshman cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson was draped all over Burke, but the Gators’ receiver secured the ball on the defender’s back. The highlight-reel catch served as the spotlight moment in Florida football’s annual Spring showcase.
The Florida Gators played their annual Orange and Blue Spring scrimmage Thursday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Team Orange defeated Team Blue 10-7 with a field goal on the final play of the game.
“Not as clean as you would’ve liked today, but the defense probably had a lot to do with that,” Florida head coach Billy Napier said. “Overall I’m very proud of this group.”
Mertz led all quarterbacks with 244 passing yards. He completed 18 of his 29 passes and threw one touchdown pass. Senior wide receiver Ricky Pearsall led all players in scrimmage yards. He caught four passes for 62 yards.
“We did do some good things, skill players made some big plays,” Mertz said. “Definitely not satisfied.”
Mertz took the field in front of the Florida faithful for the first time representing the Orange team. The Blue defense sacked him twice on the first drive and Orange punted.
The Blue offense — led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Miller III — drove the ball past midfield midway through the first quarter. The offense faced a fourth-and-inches situation on the cusp of the red zone, but Miller dropped the snap and turned the ball over.
Mertz and the Orange offense punted once again, and the first quarter ended scoreless.
Redshirt senior running back Cam Carroll pushed the Blue offense into the red zone with a 12-yard rush through traffic. The Tulane transfer was productive early with 26 yards on his first four carries.
On the next play, Miller scrambled out to his right and found redshirt sophomore receiver Marucs Burke open in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown and the game’s first points.
Sophomore tailback Montrell Johnson Jr. rattled off a 27-yard gash up the left sideline to get Orange across midfield. Mertz found sophomore receiver Caleb Douglas streaking across the field, but the young pass-catcher fumbled the ball in the red zone, and Blue took over.
Mertz and Orange took over after a Blue punt, and the Wisconsin transfer led the offense inside the 10-yard line. The Gators stalled out and settled for a field goal. Sophomore kicker Trey Smack attempted the short-range effort, but he hit the upright, and Orange stayed scoreless.
After another Blue punt, Orange’s offense had another chance to add points before halftime. Mertz found Pearsall for a 12-yard gain, and a penalty on junior cornerback Jason Marshall put the Gators across midfield.
Junior edge rusher Princely Umanmielen sacked Mertz, but the Wisconsin transfer delivered the highlight of the first half on the next play.
Mertz launched a deep pass to Pearsall down the right sideline; the Arizona State transfer leapt into the air to snag the ball for a 41-yard gain.
Orange moved closer to the goal line after redshirt sophomore receiver Kahleil Jackson picked up eight yards, and the Hawthorne, Florida, product snared a Mertz pass over the middle for a touchdown on the next play.
The quarterbacks flipped teams at halftime. Both sides led plodding drives that ended in punts to start the third quarter. Burke injected life into Blue’s offense with a huge gain late in the quarter.
Mertz rolled to his right and flicked the ball downfield for Burke, who secured the ball off the back of freshman defensive back Ja’Keem Jackson. The 39-yard gain helped spring an effective drive for Blue.
“We’re better when Marcus Burke is playing his best football,” Napier said. “He’s made some progress, but he’s not there yet.”
Freshman receiver Andy Jean picked up another 18 yards with a catch, but a 16-yard loss pushed the Gators near midfield. Blue lost another 11 yards and fumbled the ball away.
Redshirt freshman Max Brown replaced Miller for Orange. The two-sport athlete helped put Orange into field-goal range again, but Smack missed from 47 yards out.
The two sides combined for five punts in the fourth quarter. The game looked like it was headed for a tie, but Napier said the teams would’ve played overtime if it came to that.
Orange put together a final drive in the dying seconds, and Smack had a chance at redemption. The sophomore placekicker split the uprights from 46 yards away to give Orange the victory as time expired.
Contact Topher Adams at tadams@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @Topher_Adams.
Topher Adams is a fourth-year communications major and in his fourth semester with the Alligator. He previously covered football, baseball and women's basketball. He also enjoys professional lacrosse and Major League Soccer.
