Five years ago, Graham Mertz and Chimere Dike met at Wisconsin, and an immediate bond was formed. Thursday, the two connected one last time at the Gators Pro Day.

Gainesville Sun

Last month, Graham Mertz and Chimere Dike sat in an Indianapolis hotel room, wondering how in the heck they reached this moment.

The two close friends, who met at Wisconsin in 2020 and reunited on the Gators this past season, were both in town for the NFL Scouting Combine.

Thursday, the two experienced another one of those moments back in Gainesville at Florida football’s pro day. Mertz and Dike were two of 18 Gators who displayed their skillset for NFL scouts.

“Great day for this group,” coach Billy Napier said. “We got great, rave reviews from all the NFL organizations about this group as a whole, in terms of how they prepared, how they performed so far, the interview process yesterday, today.”

Here’s what we saw from Mertz and Dike at Pro Day:

Graham Mertz looks sharp in throwing return

Excitement and a little bit of relief ruminated from Graham Mertz following the conclusion of Pro Day. The QB threw for the first time in front of scouts since his torn ACL suffered vs. Tennessee on October 12. Mertz said it felt especially good to throw to receivers like Dike and Elijah Badger after spending four months back home in Kansas.

“Honestly, I was just eager to get out here and let it rip because I wasn't allowed to throw four and a half months out at the Combine,” Mertz said. “I feel really good.”

Thursday marked the completion of a personal goal for Mertz, who promised he’d be at Pro Day before his surgery.

“I was all drugged up pre surgery, but there’s a video of me saying ‘just wait until pro day,”’ Mertz said. “I saw that video this morning, and it got me. It’s special that I could do it.”

Mertz fired some nice passes, continuing a solid connection he had with Dike and Badger before last season’s injury. He hopes his experience, and conducting two different offenses at Wisconsin and Florida, draws the attention of scouts.

“Being able to have that true pro-style background, and then defenses,” Mertz said. “In the Big Ten, you see a lot more like zone-based teams. It’s a little bit of man down here. So seen a lot of ball, played a lot of ball.”

His appeal extends beyond the field. Mertz is a leader, and someone others trust. He’s been a team captain four times, after all.

“I’ve had a lot of experiences, and I know how to lead men. Point, blank, period,” Mertz said.

Napier acknowledged how much Florida’s locker room lit up when Mertz returned to Gainesville. He called Mertz one of his favorite players he’s coached in his career.

“Somebody is going to get a guy who brings a ton of experience, production, leadership, do a lot for an organization, and certainly capable of potentially one day being a starter in the National Football League,” Napier said.

Dike called Mertz a QB who is the first one in and the last one out.

“He is consistent. Same guy, every single day,” Dike said. “I think when you get that out of your quarterback, you can win a lot of football games.”

Chimere Dike continues his momentum

Dike was UF’s star of the combine, in large part to his 4.34 combine time in the 40-yard dash. He chose not to run the 40 Thursday, but he participated in position drills – teaming up with Mertz one last time.

The Wisconsin native suffered a drop early, but he recovered with some grabs – including an impressive deep pass from Mertz.

Dike has met with all 32 NFL teams. In his meetings, Dike said he’s vouched for his consistency. He had at least 185 yards in each of his five seasons in college and eclipsed 685 twice – 2022 (689) and 2024 (783).

“I think I'm versatile, a good athlete. I think if you ask guys around the program, how consistent I practice, the motor I work with,” Dike said. “I feel like I can elevate others around me too.”

Dike worked with four different starting QBs over the last two seasons – Mertz and DJ Lagway at Florida, and Tanner Mordecai and Braedyn Locke at Wisconsin. Like Mertz, he believes that experience offers a unique asset to NFL squads.

“Going into next level, you're going to have to adjust to new quarterback play,” Dike said. “It's nice to be able to have worked with different guys throughout my college career, but luckily those guys are pretty good so I don't think it should be too hard.”

Mertz wondered why the NFL took so long to see Dike’s potential, something he’s known for years.

“He woke some people up. Some people just don’t watch the tape enough. It’s all on tape,” Mertz said. “His speeds on tape, his knowledge of the game's on tape. He's physical. He can block, but he's been that dude ever since I met him when he was a freshman.”

For Napier, Dike and Badger continue his trend of transfer receivers excelling at Florida – one that began with Ricky Pearsall. He transferred from Arizona State to UF and became a first-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers last season.

The coach said Dike increased his max velocity seven times in the offseason and gained 11 pounds of lean muscle.

“I thought he showed position, flex play, inside, play outside, the special teams values, a punt returner and a cover player,” Napier said. “We made the most of their opportunities, and they cashed it in. I think they'll both be really good pro players.”

The NFL Draft begins on Thursday, April 24.

Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.