Wisconsin pleased with quarterback situation, growing depth in trenches

Wisconsin offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Phil Longo knew the question was coming after Wednesday’s practice. He was ready to give an answer.

When asked if he and head coach Luke Fickell had made a decision on the team’s starting quarterback, Longo came forward with the name everyone expected: Tyler Van Dyke.

The Miami transfer beat out redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke for the gig, meaning the Badgers will roll with a veteran transfer in the second year of Longo’s “Air Raid” system in Madison.

But the gap between the two signal callers isn’t significant, according to Longo and Fickell.

“Last year, it was Tanner Mordecai, and the No. 2 was Braedyn Locke,” Longo said, referencing Mordecai — an SMU transfer at the time — earning QB1 status last offseason.

“This year, it’s Tyler Van Dyke, and we really see Braedyn Locke … we kind of see it as a 1A, 1B type situation right now, as opposed to a 1 and a 2. That’s how well Braedyn has done here in camp. But, as of right now, Tyler Van Dyke is our starter.”

Fickell hinted at that same distinction earlier in the week while hammering home the point that the Badgers have the luxury of feeling good about two capable quarterbacks. Van Dyke arrived having started games each of the last three seasons at Miami, where he broke out in 2021 as the ACC’s Rookie of the Year before dealing with injury issues and inconsistencies the last two seasons. Locke, meanwhile, made three starts last year in Mordecai’s absence and posted a 5:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, along with a 1-2 record.

The lone win Locke orchestrated was a memorable one, as he piloted an 18-point, fourth quarter comeback that saw him throw the game-winning score at Illinois with 27 seconds left.

Longo noted that Van Dyke’s bigger arm — most notably, his greater range on the deep ball — and ability to extend plays with his legs separated him from Locke in the competition but that Locke is more accurate and athletic than he was a year ago.

“I don’t think anybody on this entire team would bat an eye of whoever is at quarterback,” Fickell said Monday. “And I think that’s a really, really good thing. Not that often do you really have that. I haven’t had it that often since I’ve been a head coach, so I feel good about that.”

Fickell also made it clear Monday that the Badgers don’t want to get in the habit of turning to the transfer portal every year for a new starting quarterback. If you don’t have a 1B currently on the roster, you’re always thinking ahead to what you’ll have to do at the position the following offseason, Fickell explained.

“We know the landscape is changing, and it’s becoming more and more different to figure some of those things out,” Fickell said, in regard to depth at quarterback. “And if you have [a 1B] within your system, that’s going to be the key, and I really do believe that’s where we are right now.”

Fickell is pleased where Wisconsin is at quarterback. Additionally, he believes the Badgers have made strides in the trenches.

“I think that our interior depth on the D-Line, I feel a lot better about [it],” he said Monday, “and just seeing those guys compete, playing six of them inside there that I think can really, really help us in the long run. I keep seeing some of the young offensive linemen having to get thrown in the mix.

“I mean, Kevin Heywood, the last four days has played with the ones the entire time, and that is a very difficult situation. And so that’s valuable in creating that six, seven and eight [deep] on the offensive line for us.”

Just a true freshman, Heywood has seemingly emerged as the team’s swing tackle, although redshirt junior JP Benzschawel appears to be the Badgers’ sixth offensive lineman. Two other O-Linemen from Heywood’s class, Emerson Mandell and Colin Cubberly, are expected to end up in the two-deep as well.

Two weeks into August, things are coming together for Wisconsin, and not just for its starters.