After finishing with a 7-5 regular season record, the Wisconsin football team doesn’t have a clear-cut starting quarterback heading into 2024.
Luke Fickell and his coaching staff brought in three signal callers from the transfer portal a year ago — headlined by SMU QB Tanner Mordecai. After the bowl game, he’ll be moving on — leaving the door open for the Badgers to go portaling for a stop-gap option again.
For those concerned about Wisconsin’s ability to pull another notable name, Brad Crawford of 247Sports recently listed the Badgers as a top 10 destination for transfer quarterbacks this offseason.
Could Wisconsin Football Be a Prime Destination for Transfer QBs Again?
The transfer portal doesn’t officially open until December 4 — but when that happens, you can expect the Wisconsin football team to be major players at every position grouping.
Redshirt freshman Braedyn Locke made three starts for the Badgers when Mordecai went down with a hand injury that required surgery. He showed flashes, throwing for 778 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. However, Locke averaged just 5.1 yards per attempt and completed 50% of his passes — which isn’t ideal for an air raid system.
He may be Wisconsin’s QB1 next season, but it would be malpractice by the coaching staff not to explore all available options — and at least kick the tires on a few veteran options to push Locke for the starting job.
The Big Ten is set to expand next season — and Wisconsin football has an absolutely brutal schedule that features opponents like Alabama, USC, Penn State, and Oregon — so the Badgers will need someone capable of elevating the offense under center.
Could Locke, or even someone like Nick Evers, make a jump and take the reins? Sure. But finding an established passer who is familiar with the scheme and has starting experience would make plenty of sense.
Suppose that QB is a dual-threat — even better. We saw how big of a role Mordecai’s running ability played in the Badgers offense finding its stride late in the season.
We’ll see just how serious Wisconsin football is about adding another quarterback when the transfer portal officially opens.
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