Wisconsin football fall camp preview: Quarterback
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It is mid-July, which means we are just weeks away from Big Ten Media Days and the beginning of fall camp for the Wisconsin Badgers football team.
The Badgers enter the 2022 season looking to improve upon their 9-4 record from a year ago and aim to get back to the Big Ten Championship Game after missing out on a Big Ten West title in 2021.
After a busy off-season filled with coaching changes, recruiting news, and transfer additions, football is nearly back. With that in mind, it is time to preview each position group leading up to the start of fall camp.
Up first, quarterback.
Other position previews:
- Running back
- Fullback
- Wide receiver
- Tight end
- Interior offensive line
- Offensive tackles
- Defensive line
- Inside linebacker
Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz enters fall camp as the No. 1 quarterback for the Badgers.
Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
Roster breakdown
Coaches:
- Bobby Engram (OC/QB coach)
- Keller Chryst (graduate assistant)
Returning players:
- Graham Mertz (RS JR) 6-foot-3, 216 lbs
- Chase Wolf (RS SR) 6-foot-1, 200 lbs
- Deacon Hill (RS FR) 6-foot-3, 262 lbs
Newcomers:
- Myles Burkett (FR) 6-foot, 198 lbs
- Marshall Howe (FR) 6-foot-1, 195 lbs
Projected depth chart
Starter: Graham Mertz
Backup: Chase Wolf
Third-string: Deacon Hill
Returning career production
| Name | Games Played (Starts) | Passing Yards | Total Touchdowns | Completion Percentage | Interceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Graham Mertz | 22 (20) | 3,269 | 25 | 60.8% | 16 |
Chase Wolf | 8 (0) | 155 | 2 | 60% | 4 |
Position overview
The quarterback position is rightfully under a microscope heading into fall camp. Wisconsin's passing game ranked inside the bottom third of nearly all major metrics and was not reliable enough to extend drives for the offense the past two seasons. As a result, the Badgers have only averaged 25 points per game in 2020 and 2021, a full nine-point drop-off from 2019.
Graham Mertz enters fall camp as the unquestioned starter, but he struggled to take care of the football a year ago. Most of his turnovers (16 total in 2021) came while he was under duress, making the changes this off-season along the offensive line extremely important.
In the spring, like most of his career, Mertz showed flashes. The former four-star recruit would make a couple of brilliant throws and then follow that up by making an errant one. For Mertz, fall camp will be about finding a level of consistency. He has worked on cleaning up his footwork this off-season, and with Bobby Engram now calling plays, Mertz is learning a new passing scheme, which should help lead to more open receivers.
2022 will mark his third year as a starter though, so Wisconsin needs to see improvement from the Kansas native. There is room for optimism, as Mertz has taken on a greater leadership role this off-season and has the physical tools to be a quality Big Ten starter. It will be vital that Mertz find a rhythm with a new group of receivers and prove that he can deliver when it comes to intermediate and level three throws in fall camp.
Behind Mertz, Chase Wolf is the most experienced option to be the backup. The redshirt senior from Ohio has played sparingly with the Badgers, with mixed results. Wolf does not have the same level of arm talent as Mertz, but he moves better outside of the pocket. I don't see a scenario where Wolf overtakes Mertz in fall camp, but he should give Wisconsin a reasonable backup if he can be more conservative with the football.
Beyond the two upperclassmen already mentioned, the Badgers will have three freshmen on the roster this fall.
Deacon Hill redshirted a season ago and has the strongest arm in the quarterback room. Hill worked as the scout team quarterback last year and made some solid strides in the spring. The Badgers usually split reps more evenly in the early stages of fall camp, making the first two weeks extremely important for Hill's development.
True freshman Myles Burkett took part in spring practice as an early enrollee and will participate in his first fall camp next month. The former three-star prospect from inside the state will look to push Hill for the third-string job. We did not get a chance to see many live team reps with Burkett in the spring, but he has the ability to extend plays with his legs and has more than enough arm strength to be a future starter down the road.
Walk-on Marshall Howe will also join the roster this fall. He had several other walk-on opportunities at the Power-5 level, so it will be fascinating to see what the Badgers have in the California native.
Redshirt freshman Deacon Hill is entering his second fall camp with the Wisconsin Badgers.
Young player to watch
While the two true freshmen will have a chance to move up the depth chart in the future, I think Deacon Hill is the most intriguing player in the quarterback room entering fall camp.
Hill came into the spring weighing 262 pounds and mentioned that he was working to bring that down by the fall. If he can show up in better shape and continue to grow his understanding of the offense, there is no doubt that he could be the long-term option after Mertz graduates. He still needs to refine his delivery and be more accurate, but the intangibles and natural throwing ability are there. Wisconsin rarely lands players with his level of arm strength out of high school, and this fall will be crucial for him to develop the other aspects of his game.
If any of the freshmen are capable of making a run to upend Chase Wolf as the backup this season, I think Hill is the guy.
Biggest question
The Wisconsin Badgers have won the eighth-most games in college football over the last decade, with most of those wins coming with relatively average quarterback play.
The biggest question entering the 2022 season is, can Mertz and the passing game do enough to win the Big Ten West?
Wisconsin's run-first offense and exceptional defense give them a chance to win most games. However, the passing attack has to be a complementary component in the offense and provide a viable threat that defenses need to respect.
Defenses were able to stack the box against the Badgers last season and concentrate their efforts on stopping Braelon Allen and rushing game. Allen's ability to break tackles helped bail the offense out frequently, but against good teams, it was not enough.
In the spring, both Paul Chryst and Graham Mertz brought up the fact that the passing game needs to progress and that the offense needs to take better care of the football in 2022. That starts up front with better pass protection, and in turn, Mertz limiting mistakes. Then, if Mertz can make some strides to improve his accuracy down the field, that should be enough. The Badgers don't need an All-American performance at quarterback to win the Big Ten West, but they do need Mertz to be more consistent than the past two seasons.
Related links:
- Five seniors who could become f
- Six juniors who could be starters this fall
- 10 players coming back from an injury that should help the Badgers in 2022
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