BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — After FOX Sports college football analyst Matt Leinart completed his one-on-one interview with Graham Mertz, Leinart walked away so impressed with the Wisconsin quarterback's demeanor that he turned to his producer and remarked, "That kid has a great head on his shoulders."

The taped segment between Leinart and Mertz will air on the Big Noon Kickoff show prior to the FOX telecast of Saturday's season opener between the 12th-ranked Badgers and No. 19 Penn State at Camp Randall Stadium. The pregame broadcast will originate from the Badgerville pregame tailgate, located just north of the stadium.

Joining Leinart, the former Southern Cal quarterback and 2005 Heisman Trophy winner, will be his old USC teammate Reggie Bush, ex-Notre Dame signal-caller Brady Quinn and former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who has replaced Urban Meyer on the show. Rob Stone is the Big Noon Kickoff host.

A few weeks ago, Leinart, who lives in Manhattan Beach, California, flew to Madison for the Mertz interview. It was the first time that he had ever visited the capital city and he later admitted, "I didn't even know it was on the water. Maybe that's just naïve of me."

Leinart had heard nothing but good things about the area from his former Arizona Cardinals teammate, Ahmad Merritt, a wide receiver on UW's back-to-back Rose Bowl winners in 1999 and 2000. He also got a positive scouting report on Madtown from Joey Boese, a defensive back on those teams.

Leinart and Boese are both alums of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif.

"You hear about how Madison is such a great college town and such a great place to go to school, but we had just never gone there before," Leinart said. "I was in and out, only there for about five hours, but from what I saw it was beautiful. I look forward to spending a little more time there."

By all measures, Mertz was a good tour guide for Leinart. They were not strangers. In late May, they met at Steve Clarkson's two-day Quarterback Retreat in Santa Monica. Clarkson is one of the nation's top QB whisperers. Leinart was among his earliest clients and success stories.

"That was a Who's Who, almost every major college quarterback was there," Leinart said of this spring's retreat. "It's a chance to hang out in the hotel, go to the beach or dinner and talk about things outside of football, where you build that bond and chemistry though you're not teammates."

Mertz, who revels in such networking, tried to get the most out of his time with Leinart, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017. A stylish lefty, Leinart threw for 10,693 yards and 99 touchdowns (with only 23 interceptions) at USC. He posted a 37-2 record as a starter.

"I was picking his brain," Mertz said. "I was asking him a thousand questions. What goes into being a quarterback? As far as film study, what do you look for? How do you approach practice? It wasn't so much about how you play the game but how do you own the role of being a quarterback?"

The 38-year-old Leinart took note of his conscientiousness and curiosity.

"He just has a really good personality — not shy, will talk about anything and ask questions — I've been around a lot of guys and not everyone is like that, I was very impressed with him," said Leinart, who played seven seasons in the NFL with the Cardinals, Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders.

"He's very mature and wise and he just gets it. We do talk about the 'it' factor in quarterbacks and it's not just on the field, but it's off the field. It's the personality, it's the way he carries himself, it's the questions he asks and the responses he gives. It's kind of the whole package.

"We talked about the whole NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) thing and the whole approach of 'I just want to win football games and all of that kind of stuff will take care of itself.' It's a great approach because it's a new era for all of us, including myself and those who cover college football.

"Obviously, the talent is there," he went on about Mertz. "He knows he has to be better this year and more consistent. But last year was just kind of crazy with COVID and everything. As far as the mental preparation, you can tell he just gets it and understands what he needs to do to be successful."

Mertz has many sounding boards. There's Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock, who has the same QB trainer (Justin Hoover) in the Kansas City metro area. And there's Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who lives a short distance from Mertz's home in Overland Park. They've thrown together.

"If I really need something I can reach out to him," Mertz said.

Mostly, though, he has tapped into the mindsets of his own college peers. Like North Carolina's Sam Howell, who was a teammate in the 2019 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Like Mississippi's Matt Corral and Auburn's Bo Nix. There are others. But they are among Mertz's most frequent contacts.

"The truth is, the quarterbacks in big-time college football are the only ones that understand what comes with that role," said Mertz. "And it's good to have another person who knows exactly what you're going through at all times. You can bounce ideas off each other and just communicate."

Based on his own experiences, Leinart co-signed Mertz's outreach.

"When I was in college, I spoke to Vince Young throughout the season. Even the year he beat us, me and Vince were extremely close, there was just a mutual respect," said Leinart, who was referring to Young leading Texas to a win over USC in the 2006 BCS national championship game at the Rose Bowl.

"I think it's good for him (Mertz), it's smart. And, to me, it just shows the personality and the maturity that he has talking to other guys, asking for advice, getting opinions and him giving his opinions to other guys. You don't see that very often with 18, 19, 20-year-old kids.

"But these guys have grown up so much faster than even when I was playing and they're more aware of everything around them. A lot of that has to do with social media. That's what makes the quarterback position extremely special. It's a bond, it's a mutual respect, it's an admiration."

Ever since leading Blue Valley North High School (Overland Park, Kansas) to the Class 6A state championship as a junior, Mertz has dealt with lofty expectations. As a four-star, he was the highest-rated quarterback to choose Wisconsin during the online recruiting era. Scrutiny has been a sidekick.

"Whenever something happens on the team — good, bad or ugly — it's always on you," Mertz said of the accountability that comes with the position. Especially when carrying such a high profile. "It's about having that edge where you know how to handle that stuff and not let it get to your head."

It falls in line with Leinart's observation about having a good head on his shoulders. Leinart knows a little something about playing under a spotlight. As a redshirt sophomore, USC coach Pete Carroll tabbed Leinart to be his starting quarterback following Carson Palmer, the 2002 Heisman winner.

"I hadn't played a down really, hadn't thrown a pass. Talk about pressure and expectations," said Leinart, whose No. 11 jersey was eventually retired by the Trojans. "I just remember getting the advice, 'Don't try to be Carson. Be who you are. Be the kid you were in high school.'"

Leinart would share as much with Mertz.

"Control what you can control and just be yourself," he emphasized. "I tell that to everybody. I tell that to my 14-year-old son. You can control your attitude. You can control your work ethic. You can control your preparation. All those things that you can control, you need to be the best at.

"But you can't control injuries, for the most part. You can't control what the media is going to say about you. And you can't control the scrutiny at times … But just play your game and be the player you know that you can be and be the player that got you to this point.

"Playing the quarterback position, there's always going to be pressure on you. Wisconsin has yet to really take that next step as far as getting to a playoff. Obviously, it's a great program and has been for a long time. But you've got to beat Ohio State. You've got to win that conference championship.

"I really think this Wisconsin team has a chance to be very good."

Leinart remembered seeing Mertz complete 20 of 21 passes for 248 yards and five touchdowns against Illinois last October. He was watching the game on television with Quinn. After Mertz checked all the boxes, both were thinking, "Okay, this kid has got a shot to be really good,'" Leinart recalled.

They still think that way about Mertz, who turned 20 last December.

"Absolutely, he has the physical skills — it's his accuracy, his arm strength, the great release — the talent is there," reiterated Leinart, cognizant that Mertz tailed off after winning his first two games and endured a three-game losing streak before guiding the Badgers to wins in their final two outings.

"Last year was just a challenging year for a lot of people. It was really hard to get motivated for even someone like myself who just covers the games. I can only imagine playing with no fans and dealing with COVID and not even knowing if you were going to be playing a game that week.

"I don't put too much merit into the stats from last year for really anybody.

"This is a brand-new year and a chance to show people what they can do.

"He (Mertz) understands what it takes to be a leader and I think we'll see that this year."

Mertz was surrounded by leaders at Clarkson's QB retreat. Beyond serving as a counselor to the high school campers, he was able to interact with his college fraternity brothers: Corral, Howell, Miami's D'Eriq King, UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Clemson's DJ Uiagalelei, Alabama's Bryce Young, et al.

Corral, Howell, King, Uiagalelei and Young have shown up on most Heisman short lists, along with Oklahoma's Spencer Rattler, who was at the 2019 Clarkson camp and set the mark for most passing yards at the '19 All-American Bowl where Mertz was named MVP after throwing for a record five scores.

The one thing they all recognize is that there's a learning component to playing quarterback.

"I'd say learning and growing," Mertz noted of his takeaways from his first season as the UW's starting QB. "I wasn't really experienced. And my parents will still joke with me about how I wasn't a grown man yet. I grew up a little bit this offseason knowing that — truly in every area of my life.

"It took me last year to figure that out … I just had to grow up and that year taught me that. Having a month of reflection after the season, I was able to say, 'This is where I fell short, this is where I need to grow, and this is where I need to apply pressure in training.'

"You can't hide from your weaknesses. You've got to frickin' attack them every day.

"And if you can turn those weaknesses into strengths then everything gets easier."

He later apologized for using the word frickin'. He was fresh off the practice field and his vocabulary, he said, reflected as much. He was being himself. True to himself. Like Leinart preached. At that, he has found himself getting closer not only with his wide receivers but his teammates as a whole.

"It's not like I've had to force myself to do it," Mertz said. "It's just that everybody truly cares about each other on this team. We'll sit down at lunch and talk for an hour-and-a-half when you don't need to be there for an hour-and-a-half. It's been cool to get to know everybody at a deeper level."

In some ways that would extend to head coach Paul Chryst who has reassumed his role as the play-caller. With the departure of quarterbacks coach Jon Budmayr, who left to be the offensive coordinator at Colorado State, Chryst has also taken over the responsibility of schooling the QBs.

"From an offensive standpoint, Coach Chryst was always there, always around, so it wasn't really different," Mertz said. "But it has been great to spend the extra one-on-one time with him in meetings. Getting on the board and drawing up plays. Knowing what goes into the role of being a quarterback."

On what Chryst's main point of emphasis has been, his message, Mertz said, "Consistency. You can't be great until you're consistently good. I've got to push every day to be the same guy every day and be better every day than the last day. I have to be consistent in doing that.

"I can talk all I want, and I can say that I want to do all this stuff, and be all this stuff, but I can't do that unless I'm consistent in every area of my life every day."

Lately, he has been getting off to the same start every day.

"The one thing I try to do is have as much fun as possible, and that starts on my drive in here," he said of his trips to Camp Randall. "I'm cranking the music at 5:45 and 6 a.m. I'm a big 50 Cent in the morning guy. I get some coffee and some 50 Cent, and it gets the blood flowing.

"That has been my morning routine just to get excited for the day. I'm doing what I love to do every day and I'm doing it with the people I love. So, it's kind of hard not to have fun doing it."

All the signs point to one thing, Leinart said. "I think he's primed to have a great season."