Graham Mertz Eligibility @ UM
After his big opening game and subsequent positive Covid test there was a lot of conjecture regarding Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz and if he would be eligible to play against UM on Saturday. Initially everyone seemed to think he would not be eligible to play. CBS Sports said as much.
He will now be required to sit out for three weeks, according to the coronavirus protocols instituted by the Big Ten upon its return to play. Mertz will also have to undergo extensive cardiac testing to investigate any long-term conditions that could arise from COVID-19 including myocarditis. Wisconsin will play at Nebraska, vs. Purdue and at No. 13 Michigan over the next three weeks.
Then, quite a bit of disagreement ensued. Some said he can play on the 21st day, others said he can play on the 22nd day, while others said it was not conclusive based on the language of the rule. Was the test on Friday or Saturday? Does the clock start from the day of the first test or the subsequent confirmed test the next day?
Fast forward and now USA Today Badgers Wire is suggesting Mertz can in fact play on Saturday as his first negative test came on Friday, making Saturday the first day he will be eligible to play. UW has declined to comment on this topic all together. Here's what Badgers Wire is saying
The redshirt-freshman QB initially tested positive for COVID-19 on October 24 and the Big Ten has a strict 21-day policy for returning to play. With Mertz’s first test coming on October 24, this Friday, November 13, would be his 21st day in conference protocol. UW has not confirmed this timeline, but if the initial report about when Mertz tested positive is true it would hold up. He would be eligible to play in games starting then, and would be eligible to play in this Saturday’s Michigan game. Would that be likely without any practice time? Turns out Mertz can be on the field before Friday.
Per Big Ten protocol, if the Kansas native is cleared by a school cardiologist he can begin an “activity progression” 15 days after his initial positive, which would have been yesterday, November 8. If each step of this progression is cleared by a team physician, Mertz can be back at practice this Wednesday through Friday in preparation for the Wolverines.
So, it appears it now comes down to if Mertz feels ready based on his limited practice time, which is essentially Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday. Personally I don't think that makes a bit of difference after watching him play. So long as he's symptom free, he should be just fine. The way things are going this year for UM I'd be very surprised if he doesn't play and play well.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:11 AM ^
I don't think it matters who they have at qb, Just chuck it up and someone besides michigan will comedown with it. Never seen dbs so bad at tracking the ball.
November 11th, 2020 at 10:04 AM ^
Exactly. UW game plan:
1. Arm punt to fade routes
2. Profit
3. Repeat steps 1-2
November 11th, 2020 at 11:57 AM ^
You missed the first step of the game plan... draw us offsides with as little as a wink so that if by some miracle our DB intercepts the pass (on accident... while shielding his eyes from the glare of the opposing wide receiver’s helmet or something) that it doesn’t count anyway.
They aren’t just arm punts, they are risk free arm punts.
End rant.
November 11th, 2020 at 2:26 PM ^
You could add the part about the referees calling PI on the Michigan players (at least) twice early and then putting the flags away (excepting offsides, of course) for the remainder of the game.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:15 AM ^
He doesn't have to practice to face our CBs.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:18 AM ^
A few weeks ago it was relevant whether or not he would play this week. Now, not so much.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:20 AM ^
3 days of practice is fine, he is playing.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:23 AM ^
At this point, I expect whoever plays to have a Heisman worthy performance against us.
November 11th, 2020 at 9:13 AM ^
Which would be his second in a row.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:23 AM ^
At this point, I expect whoever plays to have a Heisman worthy performance against us.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:59 AM ^
Two Heismans would put him in Ron Powlus territory
November 11th, 2020 at 11:37 AM ^
+1 underrated
November 11th, 2020 at 8:23 AM ^
I don’t think it matters who Wisconsin’s quarterback is that day. The strategy remains the same. Just chuck the ball up, go deep, and your receiver WILL come down with the ball.
But yeah, if Mertz comes back, it is going to be B-A-D, BAD. The guy is going to face absolutely no pressure from our DL. Especially now that Hutch is out for the year.
November 11th, 2020 at 9:10 AM ^
I believe someone posted yesterday that Paye is also likely to miss some time.
So, Mertz will get to face a JV dline/CBs in year 6 of the Harbaugh era.
He may very well throw for 450 and 5 TDs.
Makes me sick even thinking that is a possibility.
#FireHarbaugh
November 11th, 2020 at 9:22 AM ^
In addition to Mertz likely playing and Paye likely out, Mayfield & Hutch are both likely out the remainder of the season and Hayes is questionable Saturday. For those keeping count we are now down 5 starters from pre-Covid (Collins, Thomas, Paye, Hutchinson, & Mayfield) with a 6th day-to-day. All of those are key upperclassman players. This was a coin flip game with Coan and a full UM squad. Down 5-6 starters and an upgrade from Coan to Mertz and this could be a blood bath, which is quite sad considering the talent discrepancy.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:31 AM ^
I think many realized he would be playing against Michigan. But they had a pretty significant outbreak (up to 20+ players positive if I remember correctly). So only those that tested positive initially on that Saturday will be eligible for Michigan. This means they could be possibly missing 15+ players for this weekend due to the 21 day sit out. Granted they played at home so it could be guys in the two deep or it could be the practice guys that won't travel anyway.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:32 AM ^
Easiest 400 yards you'll ever get Graham
November 11th, 2020 at 8:38 AM ^
But what about the second half?
November 11th, 2020 at 8:41 AM ^
Another 400 yds on the ground as they coast the last 2 quarters.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:44 AM ^
Honest question: at what point do you just say “fuck it,” put Andre Seldon and Darion Green-Warren in, and tell them they’re starting for the rest of the year? This season is a complete lost cause anyway, and those two guys, especially Seldon, are supposed to be very talented. Seemed like the only thing holding him back in the rankings was that he was just shorter than they wanted him to be.
No one is losing any eligibility this year by playing, so at this point why not just prepare for the future and let these guys get their feet wet by starting every week? You’d love to be able to go into next season feeling like the corner situation has been settled. Or at the very least, you’ve got guys back there who are talented and have some playing time.
I don’t doubt that Vincent Gray and Germon Green are putting in the work and trying their best. But at this point, it’s pretty clear that they just are what they are, and what they are is unfortunately not good enough to be a quality contributor at the P5 level.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:57 AM ^
Gemon Green looks like he can play.
November 11th, 2020 at 11:04 AM ^
He looks like early career Channing Stribling, who was almost always in the right place, but would get out of phase and not make a play on the ball, leading to frustrating completions. That will probably get better with experience, as it did with Stribling.
November 11th, 2020 at 9:19 AM ^
At this point it appears as though Michigan's greatest weakness is in the coaching room. It is likely that a better strategy would be to lock the coaches away from the game and let the kids call their own game-play to their skill level and play like they know how to play.
I remember, almost 50 years ago, in my college course "History and Philosophy of Sports" discussing this very thing-the coaches not being involved on game day.
November 11th, 2020 at 9:20 AM ^
Green can play, and he needs to stay on the field. But I would like to see Seldon or DGW come in because Gray has proven he cannot handle the job. Might as well cut bait and see what Seldon can do...
November 11th, 2020 at 9:24 AM ^
I'm not sold on DGW because his bio is pretty similar to Gray's...physical, but lacks speed, just a higher level recruit with the same strengths and weaknesses. But, I agree on Seldon and have said this before based on his recruiting ranking, pre-season buzz, and the fact that freshman can more easily pick up CB than other positions that require time to put on size or to learn the schemes.
No one with NFL potential for next year will be doing much the rest of the season given our outlook this year.
November 11th, 2020 at 9:37 AM ^
AS was "working through something" the past few weeks
Cheers
November 11th, 2020 at 9:55 AM ^
So, does "past few weeks" mean 21 days? Maybe we see him this weekend?
And always - thanks for your updates!
November 11th, 2020 at 11:22 AM ^
Are you willing to concede that Harbaugh is coming back and his job is not in danger? You can’t really have a coach that is coaching for his job and then have him bench his best players in favor of youth and “prepare for the future” concepts.
The other side of that is, both Vincent Gray and Gemon Green are both redshirt sophomores. Eligibility doesn’t count this season, so they will be redshirt sophomores again next season. Meaning both still have three seasons to play after this year. One could argue they’re still preparing for the future by playing two corners who will still be here another 3 years.
I’m all for rotating some more of the young corners in (including redshirt freshman Jalen Perry) but giving up completely on a pair of redshirt sophomores (one of which hasn’t been that bad) seems premature and an irrational move. The young guys certainly should be in consideration for more playing time. But starting freshmen just for the sake of starting freshmen seems like a bit much.
November 11th, 2020 at 11:22 AM ^
Are you willing to concede that Harbaugh is coming back and his job is not in danger? You can’t really have a coach that is coaching for his job and then have him bench his best players in favor of youth and “prepare for the future” concepts.
The other side of that is, both Vincent Gray and Gemon Green are both redshirt sophomores. Eligibility doesn’t count this season, so they will be redshirt sophomores again next season. Meaning both still have three seasons to play after this year. One could argue they’re still preparing for the future by playing two corners who will still be here another 3 years.
I’m all for rotating some more of the young corners in (including redshirt freshman Jalen Perry) but giving up completely on a pair of redshirt sophomores (one of which hasn’t been that bad) seems premature and an irrational move. The young guys certainly should be in consideration for more playing time. But starting freshmen just for the sake of starting freshmen seems like a bit much.
November 11th, 2020 at 2:15 PM ^
4 . 7 6
40 time...
......not good folks.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:38 AM ^
This game will ultimately tell us if this defensive coaching staff can adjust and play to our rosters best abilities.
I dont expect us to win, but at least put up a fight.
November 11th, 2020 at 9:14 AM ^
I don't expect us to win, nor put up a fight.
November 11th, 2020 at 10:47 AM ^
Considering how Brown said he was surprised by recent criticism, I'm not putting a lot of faith in their ability to adjust quickly.
November 11th, 2020 at 9:57 AM ^
UM needs to come out like Rudy the Rabbit and then throw in a little Spaz Spaz Spaz.
November 11th, 2020 at 10:29 AM ^
And the winner of the team meal, mystery meat contest was our very own Don Brown who guessed “some kind of beef”.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:48 AM ^
With or without Mertz I took Wisconsin at -13.5
November 11th, 2020 at 10:36 AM ^
Why would you give 13.5 when the line was 3.5? Seems like a bad business decision.
November 11th, 2020 at 10:54 AM ^
I watched Michigan's first 3 games. Also i see that you said we could lose by 27 if Mertz plays so is it really that bad of a decision?
November 11th, 2020 at 12:24 PM ^
Sportsbooks often put out "alternative lines", where giving more points results in a higher payout. Whereas WIS -3.5 might be -110, WIS -13.5 might be +250.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:49 AM ^
I'm sure Merz will play. The bigger question to me is how many other players are out and who they are. From the Madison paper at least 10 will be out, possibly more through contact tracing. Nobody knows who they are, but it would be fair to think that some may have been exposed to Mertz or the backup who also tested positive. Hard to imagine no other offensive starters are part of this group. Practice resumed 11/9. Since 10/21 the badgers report 17 positive player tests.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:53 AM ^
Mertz has been slated as QB1 on the Wisky depth chart for the Michigan game. Pretty damn sure he is playing. Wolf is the back up.
They list RB as Groshek or Watson and RT Bruss or Beach.
On Defense they have at least 4 iffy returns at DE, OLB, SS, and CB.
November 11th, 2020 at 10:10 AM ^
I expect Wisconsin to be a little sloppy due to not playing. I also expect it won’t matter. Hey Jim thanks for a handful of good games and a boatload of loses. Don’t let the door hit you.
November 11th, 2020 at 9:02 AM ^
I think Mertz will look at our defensive game film and decide (correctly) that he’s definitely ready to play. Running at a slow jog for 10 seconds may leave him huffing and puffing, but that’s not a problem against don brown’s vaunted d this year.
November 11th, 2020 at 9:40 AM ^
Don Brown stated yesterday that he was blindsided by all the criticism of Harbaugh and his defense yesterday on 97.1. That just goes to show you how out of touch he is with the current state of the program.
November 11th, 2020 at 9:59 AM ^
please tell me you're kidding. that is unbelievable. It's so in-line with their attitude now isn't it? last year was "OSU better be ready now".
Sad really because one would think the coaching staff would have an aha moment at some point and try something different. But then again, I've been waiting for that every year, bowl games in particular and yet here we are.
I would love to hear from Greg Mattison what the real differences in coaching are bw UM and OSU. I'm sure it would be absolutely maddening and disappointing, at how simple it is, yet...
November 11th, 2020 at 10:05 AM ^
Not kidding at all.
November 11th, 2020 at 10:18 AM ^
I heard it and was in disbelief.
It's actually a lead story on 247 now.
"Blindsided"?????
November 11th, 2020 at 10:00 AM ^
Ummm... Not sure how to process this. I mean, if the offense was putting up 40-some points each game - outscoring the opponent, as is the nature of todays game - I could see him getting blindsided. Because in that case, the defense is playing okay. When the offense wins with a modern game plan, it scores 40-some points because the defense is going to give up 30-some. It just is; this is the nature of modern college football. But to be so poor against the likes of MSfuckingU, combined with the offense looking even worse, you cannot be blindsided.
When you continually put an overmatched corner on an island against nobody, and he fails, you cannot be blindsided.