Wisconsin Badgers 2023 Fall Position Preview: Quarterbacks

MADISON — New Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell and his staff addressed the present and future at the most important position this offseason.

The Badgers' quarterback room went from shaky to stabilized with the addition of three transfers, including an established starter and two redshirt freshmen.

As fall camp approaches, BadgerBlitz starts its position-by-position breakdown of the fall roster. We start our analysis with the quarterbacks.

The Badgers' depth chart for December's Guaranteed Rate Bowl included two scholarship quarterbacks: fifth-year senior Chase Wolf and true freshman Myles Burkett. Graham Mertz, who underwhelmed over three seasons as UW's starter, entered the transfer portal and committed to Florida earlier that month.

A few weeks after that game, Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo put the finishing touches on their remodeling of the group. They added SMU transfer Tanner Mordecai and Mississippi State transfer Braedyn Locke after landing Oklahoma transfer Nick Evers just before signing day.

Wolf planned on returning for a sixth year but decided not to after UW's transfer additions. Marshall Howe, a walk-on in 2020, participated in spring ball before entering the transfer portal and later committing to Yale.

Mordecai, a sixth-year senior, completed 66% of his passes for 7,152 yards with 72 touchdowns to 22 interceptions over two seasons at SMU. He was twice a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, presented annually to the nation's best quarterback.

Yet not everyone seems to be sold on the idea that Mordecai is a significant upgrade for Wisconsin. Plenty of observers — and NFL talent evaluators — are curious to see if he can be as productive in the Big Ten. Mordecai acknowledged that storyline when he met with reporters in April.

"I want to show them that I can do what I did at SMU in the best conference in the nation," Mordecai, who nearly declared for the NFL Draft after last season, said.

Mordecai must be particularly eager to silence those still discussing his four-interception performance in UW's open (and televised) spring practice. That led many to dig further into his SMU stats.

While he threw 22 interceptions over two seasons, he attempted more than 900 passes across 24 games and had some near-flawless stretches. This past season, for example, he tossed 21 touchdowns to four picks in SMU's last seven games.

"He has a strong enough arm to make every throw," Longo said. "He can snap off all of the quick ones. We call them automatics. We really expect there to be 100% completion with regard to our accuracy in the quick game.

"The intermediate stuff takes a little bit more focus. You're going to do that under more duress because we're holding the ball longer. He's really good there, and he can fit it into tight windows. And I think he's going to be a really, really good deep-ball guy."

Mordecai has also shown throughout his career that he's a capable runner. He rushed 133 times for 302 yards and four touchdowns at SMU, burning Navy for a 60-yard score this past season.

"I think he's much more athletic than people give him credit for," Longo said.

Locke would be the starter had the Badgers not landed Mordecai, and the race wouldn’t be particularly close. The redshirt freshman looked like a quarterback capable of playing this season while taking firm control of the No. 2 spot in the spring.

Locke's instant success was in part to his pre-established knowledge of the Air Raid offense. He didn’t appear in a game last season, but he absorbed the ins and outs of the scheme under Air Raid pioneer and late Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach.

"I was very, very blessed to play for a guy like coach Leach at Mississippi State," Locke said. "He taught me a lot about keeping the game simple and trusting your preparation and just being a smart football player."

Evers showed off his strong arm and speed during spring camp, but his reps won't increase until he has a better grasp on the offense.

"The prerequisite now... we won't recruit them if they don't have the arm strength," Longo said. "We won't recruit them if they haven’t demonstrated accuracy. But once they get here, they're not getting on the field or repping if they don't know their job."

Burkett also took third-team reps throughout the spring.

1. Can Mordecai elevate? Mordecai came close to declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft but decided to return after receiving some uninspiring feedback. There isn’t a ton of 2024 buzz for him right now, but it will be interesting to see how far his stock jumps if he has a good season in the Big Ten.

The last Wisconsin quarterback to be drafted was Russell Wilson, who transferred to UW from NC State ahead of the 2011 season.

2. Will Evers show progress during fall camp? He's the most physically gifted quarterback in the group. Now he must pair those abilities with a better feel for the offense.

It'd be foolish to dig too far into next year's quarterback situation, but Evers would put himself in a much better spot if he shows improvement with the reps he gets during fall training camp.

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