The University of Wisconsin football team redshirt senior quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, whose season was cut short in a game against Alabama when he suffered a season-ending ACL injury, announced he was entering the transfer portal Dec. 9 with one year of eligibility remaining.
By entering the portal, Van Dyke left the Badgers’ keys to offense in the hands of redshirt sophomore and former backup quarterback Braedyn Locke. Locke, a career backup to this point, had earned chances as a starter after redshirt senior Tanner Mordecai’s injury in 2023 and Van Dyke’s injury in 2024.
But, Dec. 11, Locke announced he also intends to enter his name into the transfer portal in a post on X. This means the Badgers have lost their first- and second-string signal callers to the transfer portal, along with redshirt freshman Cole LaCrue, the Badgers fourth-stringer who announced his intent to enter his name into the portal Nov. 21 in an Instagram post.
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This leaves one quarterback on the Wisconsin roster — true freshman Mabrey Mettauer. Mettauer, a 2024 high school graduate from The Woodlands, Texas, was a four-star out of high school and holds his high school record for most passing yards in a single season and in a career. The Badgers can elect to qualify Mettauer as a redshirt to give him an extra year of eligibility, but if they don’t, he will be a true sophomore at the start of next season.
Head coach Luke Fickell signed two quarterbacks Dec. 4 during the early signing period. This includes four-star Carter Smith and three-star Landyn Locke, Braedyn Locke’s brother. So, at the least, the Badgers will have one sophomore quarterback, who has only thrown one pass in his collegiate career, and two true freshman quarterbacks on the roster.
There are currently seven four-star quarterbacks in the portal, including names like Maalik Murphy (Duke), Luke Kromenhoek, the No. 4 quarterback in the class of 2024 (FSU), Conner Weigman (Texas A&M) and Miller Moss (USC). Fickell’s decisions over the next few weeks and months will directly dictate the future of the program.