Former Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai plans to sign as an undrafted free agent with the San Francisco 49ers, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Mordecai enjoyed a six-year college career with three different programs before finishing up his final year with the Badgers.
The quarterback helped lead Wisconsin to a 7-6 finish in the inaugural season for coach Luke Fickell. He started 10 games to finish with 2,066 yards passing, nine touchdowns and fourth interceptions.
Mordecai began his college career at Oklahoma in 2018 and played three seasons in Norman as a backup before transferring to SMU. He finished his two years with the Mustangs with 7,152 yards passing, 72 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.
Mordecai helped SMU to rank among the top 15 passing offenses in the country both of his years in Dallas, including ranking No. 7 overall in 2022. He threw for a school record nine touchdowns in a matchup against Houston that season, including tying an NCAA record with seven TDs in the first half.
His first season with the Mustangs was the best of his career as he ranked 12th in the NCAA with 3,628 yards passing and fifth with 39 touchdowns. He earned second team All-AAC honors as his 41 total touchdowns broke an SMU school record.
As a recruit, Mordecai was a four-star prospect coming out of Midway High School in Waco, Texas. He ranked as the No. 266 overall player and No. 10 quarterback in the 2018 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
Luke Fickell on Tanner Mordecai: ‘I don’t think you can say enough about that kid’
Mordecai ended his college career with a bang, throwing for a season-high 378 yards and three touchdowns in the ReliaQuest Bowl against LSU. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough to lead the Badgers to victory as they lost 35-31.
Fickell spoke on the performance from his QB following that game, as well as what it meant to have him in Madison for one season.
“I don’t think you can say enough about that kid,” Fickell said getting choked up with emotion. “I mean everyone’s programs in this time, it’s tough. To have guys that stick things out, the guy that some people would say come into a place and rent it, there’s no rent in that guy. I mean there was never a hesitation at what he wanted to do and what he was going to do.
“…He’s gonna play for a long time, I’ll call my buddy and make sure that if he does he better get him on his team because the guy’s a winner. I know he didn’t win today, but he left it all out there. And I’m not one of those guys for sixth or seventh years, but if there was a way I would do everything I could to get him back.”
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