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Is Luke Fickell's transfer portal quarterback strategy sustainable for Wisconsin Badgers?

This will be the third-straight season that a brand new transfer quarterback will be the starter for Wisconsin.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin quarterback Carter Smith (3) is shown during spring football practice Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin
Wisconsin quarterback Carter Smith (3) is shown during spring football practice Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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For the last few seasons, Luke Fickell has had to rebuild the Wisconsin Badgers quarterback room through the transfer portal.

It's provided a patchwork solution, but it doesn't feel like a sustainable answer for the long-term health of the program.

After their 5-7 season in 2024, quarterbacks Tyler Van Dyke, Braedyn Locke, Mabrey Mettauer and Cole LaCrue all left in the transfer portal.

There wasn't much Fickell could do to stop them, after firing offensive coordinator Phil Longo and making changes to his staff, but it forced him down a familiar path to find his next starter.

Maryland transfer Billy Edwards Jr. is locked in as the new QB1, but it's the third-straight season that a brand new transfer quarterback will be the starter for Wisconsin.

Van Dyke was with the program a few days short of a full calendar year between transfering in from Miami and then leaving for SMU.

Before him, Tanner Mordecai came in from SMU for his final collegiate season before declaring for the NFL Draft.

It's not that the Badgers need to have the same starter for multiple seasons, but they need their quarterbacks to be around the team for multiple years to reach their full potential at Wisconsin.

Edwards, Van Dyke and Mordecai can be stop-gap starters, but relying on stop gaps every year isn't sustainable.

The hope is that a sophomore starter like Danny O'Neil from San Diego State will stick around despite being a backup this year and potentially develop into the starter in 2026 after having a full year working under Fickell and offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes.

At the same time, true freshman Carter Smith (a four-star recruit) also needs to stick around and grow with the program, knowing he'll be able to compete to start in a year or two.

Part of it is outside of Fickell's control. Players have a variety of reasons for entering the transfer portal, and some guys are going to leave ever year.

But if he can keep attracting younger, hungry talent while continuing to develop the names he has, he can slow down the constant turnover at the position and build a more sustainable passing game for the Badgers.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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