Former NFC star JP Pickles seizes opportunity as Mercer’s starting QB

JP Pickles knows the value of being ready when opportunity arrives.

The former North Florida Christian star transferred from UTEP to Mercer in 2025 to be closer to home, spent his first season in a limited role and opened this year as the Bears ' backup behind a former Florida State quarterback. When his opportunity finally arrived, Pickles seized it and hasn't looked back.

The junior was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after scoring four touchdowns in Mercer's 28-19 comeback win over The Citadel last Saturday, Oct. 31.

Pickles threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns on 17-for-20 passing with no interceptions and added 46 rushing yards and an additional touchdown. Trailing 10-0 at the half, Pickles completed 10 of 12 passes for 189 yards and led the Bears to four scoring drives in their five second-half possessions.

Winners of five straight, Mercer (7-2, 4-1 SoCon) opens a pivotal two-game conference road trip on Saturday at No. 25 Chattanooga (6-3, 5-1) at Finley Stadium.

For Pickles, the decision to transfer closer to home has proved to be exactly what he was looking for. His father also played basketball at Mercer, located three hours from Tallahassee in Macon, Georgia, for two seasons.

"I wanted to get closer to home and so I got into the transfer portal and Mercer," Pickles said. "I believe, was the first or second school I heard from. I've known about Mercer my whole life and then I took a visit here and I really liked it. So I ended up coming here."

Pickles, Mercer looks for strong finish as regular season closes

Pickles' breakthrough reinforces one of football's oldest lessons: You can't control when the opportunity arrives.

He was the backup quarterback last season to Braden Atkinson, who won the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in the FCS, throwing for 3,611 yards and 34 touchdowns. Atkinson transferred to Oregon State, where he's enjoying another breakout season. Pickles then entered this year as the backup to FSU transfer Jaylen King, who started well but cooled off.

Pickles' mindset never changed as he waited his turn.

"I was a backup but I was preparing to start if anything happened," Pickles said.

Across his games leading the offense against Abilene Christian, Western Carolina, Samford, and The Citadel, the athletic Pickles has guided the Bears to a 4-0 record while displaying his dual-threat efficiency. He has combined for 10 touchdowns (5 passing, 5 rushing) while averaging 262.3 yards of total offense per game.

Mercer e n ters a demanding final stretch with three regular-season games remaining, beginning at Chattanooga (6-3, 5-1). The Bears then travel to Tennessee Tech before returning home to close the regular season against ETSU.

While Pickles knows the challenge only gets tougher from here, he points to his team's strengths. He credits Mercer's success to a complementary formula: a defense that consistently puts the offense in favorable situations and a running game that has given the Bears confidence against any opponent.

"As a team, you know, we're really good on defense," Pickles said.

"They do a lot of things, and it's nice to have them helping us out, you know, getting us in good field position. We've got a really good run game. We kind of found that out at Georgia Tech. ... Ever since then, we've kind of known that we can run the ball on anyone. And we also have some really good threats on the outside. Brayden Smith, who's a four-year starter here at Mercer. He's one of the best receivers in FCS right now."

Jim Henry is Tallahassee Democrat sports editor. Email him at jjhenry@tallahassee.com .