MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Badgers were inside the McClain Center on Saturday morning for their second open spring practice.
BadgerBlitz.com was there to catch the action. Here are my three biggest takeaways.
Edwards slowly shakes off rust
Quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. didn’t exactly hit the ground running. He had an up-and-down first day, and a pretty rough first hour or two on Saturday.
Part of this is the natural transition process of joining a different school. But his new offense isn’t making things easy for him. I’d estimate 60-70% of the passing plays called on Saturday involved a quarterback rollout or some type of movement. There was some clear discomfort. Most of these passes sailed above receivers’ heads or didn’t reach them at all.
He’s mobile enough, but this wasn’t a huge part of the Maryland offense. It is, however, in offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’s system.
"They've gotta be able to provide some sort of athleticism,” Grimes said in January, referring to quarterbacks.
“They've gotta be able to escape and get out of trouble when you're throwing the football. And then I'd like for them to present some level of run threat to the defense. How much that is depends on a number of different factors; I look at it on a sliding scale. If a guy is a dynamic athlete, and every time he touches the ball he has a chance to make an explosive play, I might take a little less in some of the other categories. He might not be as tall, or his arm might not be quite where you want it to be now...on the other hand, if a guy has just enough athletic ability to be an escape threat, or run a quarterback draw every now and again, he better be able to rip that football, he better be great at getting that offensive line to the right protection, and he better be great at a lot of other things as well. Ideally, you've got a big guy who's a great thrower and a good runner too."
Edwards falls in the second bucket, evidenced by how well he played in the second half of practice, when able to stand still in the pocket and show off his arm strength.
He rifled multiple 30+ yard passes in 11-on-11s, to Quincy Burroughs, Jayden Ballard and even the freshman Eugene Hilton.
This is far from a surprise. I’d struggle to find a quarterback who prefers throwing on the run.
But given the importance of mobility in Grimes’s system, this isn’t a negotiable skill. The offense simply can’t operate at its full capacity if this remains an issue.
