Wisconsin offensive coordinator Phil Longo spoke to the media during fall camp for the first time since the spring. He touched on plenty of topics, from how he landed at the decision to name Tyler Van Dyke the starter to his dynamic young halfbacks and much more.
Here's everything Longo said at his availability:
*Authors note: Some questions and answers are slightly rephrased for clarity.
Q: How have you assessed your top three guys at quarterback?
"Since I've been at here Wisconsin, we've been blessed in the quarterback room. We've got some really intelligent guys in there. I've got five guys in there that understand what we're doing. Our top two right now are Tyler and Braedyn. They have full understanding of the offense, they're probably doing as much offensively as maybe I've ever done with any quarterback with the exception of Sam Howell. So we are ahead of the curve this year, and that's kinda what I expected going into year two with so many veteran guys coming back. Even though Tyler wasn't here, he's the veteran of three different offensive coordinators, three different types of offenses, so he's been through this."
Q: Are you ready to name a starter?
"We have named Tyler Van Dyke our starter. I will tell you that Braedyn Locke, last year it was Tanner Mordecai and our number two was Braedyn Locke. This year, it's Tyler Van Dyke and we really see Braedyn Locke, I've mentioned to you in the past how much better he's gotten this year. As Fick says, we kinda see it as a 1A, 1B situation right now as opposed to a one and a two. That's how well Braedyn has done here in camp. But as of right now, Tyler Van Dyke is our starter."
Q: You said before preseason camp that Braedyn is twice the player that he was a year ago. What specifically is different about him?
"His strength last year was the decision-making part of it. We wanted to get better athletically. We wanted to get throws off a little quicker. I think we wanted to do more with him mentally. The great progress this year is he's so good mentally that he's on point with the throws. He's been even more accurate this year than he was last year. With the help of Brady Collins and the staff, he's doing a lot more things athletically that I did not see him do last spring. He's just a much better athletic product. He's stronger, he's more durable, he's twitchier. I wouldn't call him explosive, I'm gonna hear about that one, but he's more explosive than he was last year. He's kinda taken it to another level mentally. And we really have a play-caller when he's out there. He oughta be able to manage the problems and put us in a good position. And his number one job would be to distribute the football."
Q: What separates Tyler from Braedyn?
"Right now, Tyler is pretty close mentally. He's where we'd like him to be, I mean you'd always want him to be better. I don't want any mistakes ever, every day. That's our goal; to be perfect mentally. Because it's hard to be perfect physically. I think probably the big separator right now, bigger arm. He probably wins and drives the ball better in smaller holes. Both can throw the deep ball well, there's probably a greater range with Tyler. And he has done a hell of a job running the football, extending plays when he needs to. Looking at him, they'd call him the prototypical pocket quarterback. I don't necessarily think that's what he is. He's shown he can extend plays with his legs, and that was another key factor in the decision."
Q: You obviously had familiarity with Tyler in the ACC. When you met with him, when he was trying to make a decision in the portal, how much did you feel like the last year or two wasn't indicative of the talent he possesses?
"There are things that occurred at Miami. I mean, he comes in there first year and he's the ACC rookie of the year. And he had a good second season. What people don't know is that he played extremely hurt the third year. He was also on the third year of a new offense and a new coordinator. I don't know if that approach they took the third year was conducive to Tyler, but it's not my decision. And I don't wanna judge the OC's that are there. But I just think we have to be careful and try to do the things that feature what he does well. And the decision making part of it is good, the big arm is really a bonus for us, and the mobility is a bonus. The three things you would hope to have at quarterback, we have right now."
Q: In year two, how do you hope to have the tight ends more featured in your offense?
"They're involved more in two tight end sets. We have a couple three tight end sets. We're moving them around a little bit more. We also have more depth at the top three spots where we can kinda use the three of them. Tucker Ashcraft looks like a second-year player. Riley (Nowakowski) is a seasoned vet, and that's the way he plays at tight end. And then (Jackson) McGohan gives us a different flavor there at tight end. He's extremely athletic and twitchy. And then there's the emergence of JT Seagreaves, who, at 250 pounds, runs well right now and has done a better job blocking. So obviously we're happy with everyone, and we're gonna use all those guys."
Q: You're using a lot more running backs, two and three back looks; what does the depth of the running back room give in you in terms of versatility with this offense?
"Coach (Devon) Spalding and I talk about this every day. It's a good problem to have when you have the depth that we have. And the guys are all playing well, they're executing. I'd say one running back needs to improve on protections, another needs to improve on run-blocking, another has to get the mental part down. We've got things we want to improve with each of them, but there's five or six of them right now that if we had to play them, we'd feel good about the athletic potential that they have in the game. Some catch it better, some slash it better, some are power runners. I don't know if we're gonna do this thing by committee, but there's certainly room in the offense for three running backs."
Q: How have you seen Dilin Jones and Darrion Dupree progress to the point where they're getting reps with the two's?
"Probably the area that I'm impressed with the most when it comes to Darrion and Dilin, is how quickly — because neither of them were here in the spring — how quickly they've assimilated. They get along with the players, some good relationships. Obviously athletically, they blend very nicely with the offense. They've done a very good job on the run, and they're still learning and they've still got a ways to go, but they've done a great job in a very short period of time. This summer, this camp, learning this system, understanding how it goes. Right now I think they're in a little rhythm with the tempo, and it'll help from the QB in the backfield. I would expect by the time the season comes we'll feel really good about them mentally."
Q: Luke Fickell has said multiple times that you don't want to live through the portal at QB. How do you do that over the next couple months to see where Braedyn and Mabrey and anybody else are developmentally so you know what you have come December?
"I think the portal decisions are based on what immediate needs there are. And I agree wholeheartedly with Coach Fickell that you really wanna build high school players, get a chance to develop them. There's nothing better than a third or fourth year starting player at any position. Not only because he's good at what he does, but he's playing instinctively. And he's another coach on the field; he's really gonna help the young guys. As long as that culture continues here, I think that's gonna be the mode in which we do things. When we need to go after a portal guy, that's Fick's decision, and we make a move. Right now in the quarterback room, I feel really good about Mabrey. He's a young guy learning, he's doing his thing and he makes some mistakes. If Braedyn were our starter right now, we'd feel great about it. That's kinda where we are moving forward, and Cole (LaCrue) and Milos (Spasojevic) in there developing, and they're both bright kids. I like where we are, we've got a really good one coming in December, right, and then we have another one set and committed and ready to go for the following year, so I like what the future holds for the quarterbacks in our room."
Q: If the season were to start in a couple days, do you feel Kevin Heywood would be ready to play in a game?
"I think we all have confidence in Kevin. Are we getting out of him what we're getting from the starter, Riley Mahlman? No. But Riley's been here numerous years and started numerous years. I would say Heywood reminds me of Tucker Ashcraft last year. He's a guy we don't wanna have to put in there right away. But then we did, and we were pleasantly surprised by the way Tucker played. And it's paying great dividends now as it did towards the end of the season. Heywood is getting some reps with the first team that we didn't plan. Thankfully, it's not gonna be a major issue, so he'll be a two. But he's getting reps right now against really good people. And that's gonna pay dividends and his development will probably happen, and he'll be ready to play this year sooner than we anticipated. For him that's a good thing, for us that's a good thing."
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