Whether or not Coan is as good as his stats from two games might indicate, he'll be tested against Michigan, who will be physical enough to force him out of his comfort zone as well as any conference team can, except OSU.
That said, the future is not yet here for Mertz. He's probably going to end up a red shirt, and get his chance next year. In fact, we might even see Coan walk away just like Hornibrook, if he believes he doesn't automatically get the starting job.
As I view what happened with Hornibrook, I'm wondering if he didn't see his job evaporate because of Coan, not because of Mertz joining the team. People speculated it was Mertz being the wonder boy, but reality says that would have been difficult assuming, since he'd never even practiced with the Badgers, when Hornibrook was ready to leave.
If Coan proves to be "that good," over the course of this season, and Mertz decides to walk, it would be a big mistake on his part, because Coan would be a senior next year. He burned up his red shirt year.
In either case, we might be in pretty good shape at QB for at least one more campaign, or be flat this year, and be seeing much improvement next year, as more experienced Mertz would really enter the picture.
Right now, we don't have a lot to really haggle over. After the Michigan game, that could change. It could also signal the end of the Jack Coan era as our QB, with either Van Den Boom or Wolf get the nod.
I'm just speculating here. I have no idea where this will all end up going.
