Landyn Locke inked his name with Wisconsin on Dec. 4 during college football's early signing period.
Less than two weeks later, the 2025 quarterback from Texas is no longer part of the Badgers' 2025 recruiting class. Locke announced on Monday evening that he had "decommitted and am no longer singed to the University of Wisconsin."
Locke's departure is not all that surprising. First, the Badgers fired his lead recruiter, coordinator Phil Longo, in November. Second, UW added four-star signal caller Carter Smith to the senior class right before Signing Day. At the time, the 2025 class was the first Wisconsin cycle to have two scholarship quarterbacks since 2017, which included Jack Coan and Danny Vanden Boom.
“To me, as long as you're upfront, as long as you're honest with people, if your relationship's built the right way, it usually works itself out. And to be honest, I thought that they handled it really well," head coach Luke Fickell said on Signing Day. "They (Locke family) understood what it is that we had to do and what we were going to try to do, and all anybody wants is to make sure that they still have the opportunity to compete, they still have the same opportunities that and still believe in them the same way that we did, whether it was a year ago or six months or a month ago, we started recruiting another quarterback.
"It wasn't because Landyn was hurt or it wasn't because we didn't believe in him. It was just the sheer fact that, like I told him, we need to have five guys in that room, and we can't get into a situation like we have been this year."
The final straw was likely when his older brother, Braedyn Locke, entered the transfer portal on Dec. 11. The two planned to begin living with each other in Madison for the spring semester.
"He (Braedyn) loves Madison and everything about it. He loves the coaching staff and says the culture there is like nothing he’s ever seen before," Landyn Locke said in a previous interview. "No matter what happens in the quarterback room this year, he just loves Madison and being around the guys and coaches. They are looking forward to the tough schedule this fall and they are all embracing the competition. Braedyn and I both think there are great things coming to Wisconsin next year and in the future."
Wisconsin started to rebuild the quarterback room this week after it watched Locke, Cole LaCrue and Tyler Van Dyke enter the portal this month. On Monday, the staff added Danny O'Neil, who played at San Diego State, and Billy Edwards Jr., a starter for Maryland in 2024. Those two are expected to compete with Mabrey Mettauer and Smith during spring camp, but there is also a possibility UW goes after another portal quarterback this month.
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