The University of Wisconsin has remade its quarterback room with two starters in one weekend, injecting some needed competition into a stagnate position over the past four seasons.
Announcing the transfer of San Diego State quarterback Danny O’Neil Monday morning, the Badgers added Maryland senior quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. to give new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes some more options to rebuild Wisconsin’s struggling offense.
Quarterback was likely the top priority for Wisconsin and first-year offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes in the portal after starters Braedyn Locke and Tyler Van Dyke entered the portal. Before the commitments, UW’s only scholarship quarterbacks on the projected spring roster were redshirt freshman Mabrey Mettauer and incoming freshman Carter Smith. Landyn Locke, Braedyn’s younger brother, announced Monday he was decommitting from the program after signing during this month’s signing period.
After entering the portal on Thursday, Edwards took an official visit to Wisconsin over the weekend. He was scheduled to visit Michigan on Monday before canceling the trip. The Wolverines landed one of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 class in Bryce Underwood and signed him to a reported eight-figure NIL deal. Underwood is rated the country's No.2 prospect and quarterback by Rivals.com.
Edwards’ decision means he's trading in one struggling Big Ten school for another. Like Wisconsin, the Terrapins finished the season on a five-game losing streak. However, Maryland’s 4-8 overall record wasn’t because of its passing offense.
Maryland’s passing offense ranked 17th nationally at 275.7 yards per game with Edwards mostly under center. He threw for 2,881 yards, 15 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 11 games in his first season as Maryland’s starting quarterback. The junior eclipsed 300 passing yards four times, including a season-high 373 yards in a home victory over USC. He also ran 81 times for 150 yards and five touchdowns.
His 65 percent completion percentage was nearly 10 percentage points higher than Locke’s numbers in his nine starts last season.
The Terrapins finished 1-8 in Big Ten play, surrendering at least 27 points per contest.
Wisconsin’s Air-Raid offense never materialized under Phil Longo, who was fired November 17 after Wisconsin was held to a then season-low 226 yards in a 16-13 loss against No.1 Oregon. Fickell’s hire of Grimes, who was a finalist for the Frank Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach at Baylor in 2021 and at BYU in 2020, signals the Badgers want to return to their roots of a power-running school with a balanced passing offense to compliment the run.
Wisconsin finished the regular season 99th nationally in total offense (350.3 ypg), tied for 107th in scoring (22.6), and tied for 110th in red-zone offense (78.0 percent). Wisconsin’s passing offense ranks 100th in the country at 196.7 yards per game, averaging only 11.4 yards per completion and 6.5 yards per attempt.
Edwards completed at least one 25-yard pass in every full game he played.
It’s the third school for Edwards, who began his career at Wake Forest and spent the last three seasons at Maryland.
Wisconsin will open its 2025 Big Ten schedule hosting Maryland on September 20.
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