As draftable NFL prospects began dropping out of the college football bowl season like flies, Tanner Mordecai never considered passing up a final opportunity to compete for the University of Wisconsin. After all, a broken throwing hand caused him to miss enough time.
So, with two of his potential replacements – Miami transfer quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and four-star freshman Mabrey Mettauer – watching from the sidelines, Mordecai showed during Monday’s 35-31 loss to No.13 LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl. how Wisconsin’s Air-Raid offense can function when there’s a capable quarterback under center.
Fully healed after missing 3.5 regular-season games, Mordecai completed 27 of 40 passes (67.5 percent) for 378 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He became the 11th Badger QB to throw for 300+ yards in a game (the first since Sept. 2019), while his throwing total was fifth-most in school history, second-most in a bowl game, and most for a UW player against an SEC team.
"I don’t think you can say enough about that kid," UW coach Luke Fickell said. "Everyone’s program, in this time (of the portal and opt-outs), it’s tough. To have guys that stick things out, a guy that some people would say come into a place and some people would say rent it. There is no rent in that guy. There was never a hesitation of what he wanted to do and what he was going to do.”
Showing his excitement for the bowl opportunity in the days leading up to the game, Mordecai was on point for most of the afternoon. He completed his first five attempts, 8 of 10 and 14 of 18. He finished the first half 14 of 20 for 219 yards and touchdown throws of 20 yards to Bryson Green, 53 yards to Will Pauling, and 9 yards to Pauling. Mordecai had only six touchdown passes in 274 throws during the regular season.
He completed passes to eight different received, showed poise in going 5-for-5 on a 41-second TD drive right before halftime to retake the lead, and took accountability when he was sacked on the final three plays games, squandered a second-and-2 on the LSU 19 in the final minute.
“Today was just a rollercoaster, up and down," Mordecai said. "I think that’s kind of how our year was, a rollercoaster. Lots of ups, lots of downs. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The guys in that locker room was what makes it so special.”
One of offensive coordinator Phil Longo’s priorities after being hired was to improve the talent and depth in the quarterback room. Adding transfers Nick Evers (Oklahoma) and Braedyn Locke (Mississippi State) helped, but the Badgers were slated to enter fall camp without a player who had attempted a collegiate pass.
Enter Mordecai, who threw for 7,152 yards, 72 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions for SMU as a two-year captain. Fickell had seen Mordecai up close while at Cincinnati and Longo recruited the quarterback out of high school.
From the time he arrived, Mordecai emerged as a leader within the quarterback room and the locker room.
“I appreciate him for the warrior that he is,” Longo said before the bowl. “Coaches throw that word around a lot, but he is one of the toughest quarterbacks I have coached from a mental standpoint and a physical standpoint. He’s been that way since the way he got here. It’s 100 percent sincerely who and what he is. That’s what we’re looking for in our quarterback and we got it.”
The task now is for Wisconsin to find another quarterback who can replicate Mordecai’s skill and toughness.
Van Dyke was the only transfer-portal quarterback UW signed in December, a 6-foot-4 and 224-pound three-year starter who completed 63.7 percent of his passes for an average of 2,490 yards per season. He had 54 touchdowns and 23 interceptions, with 12 coming this past season.
“What I’m really most intrigued about with Tyler is how he’s bounced back and handled all those situations,” Longo said. “Everybody has (adversity) in their background. Many don’t handle it as well. He did, and he does. That’s just part of the mental part I think that is an asset we are getting with him.”
Longo cited Van Dyke’s experience, size, arm strength, range, and mental toughness as all positive signs, things he saw firsthand with the Hurricanes facing Longo’s Tar Heels in 2021 and 2022.
“That carried some weight with me with regard to liking him,” Longo said. “I know what he was competing against and what high level he was playing.”
Asked about Mordecai after the game, Fickell was noticeably emotional. He praised the veteran battling through injuries for a second straight season (Mordecai played through three broken ribs in 2022) to remain committed to UW’s season.
“For him to go out and not just play the way he did but practice the way he did and lead the way he did to help us move our program forward and set an example of what things can look like when you really dive all in, for a guy that did that in one year, I’d bottle that thing up,” he said. “It’s the way to go about your business.
“The guy is a winner. I know he didn’t win today, but he left it all out there. I’m not one of those guys for sixth and seven years, but if there was a way, I would do everything I could to get him back."
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