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Luke Fickell wants more balance in Wisconsin Badgers offense to help overcome quarterback struggles

In an interview with Jim Rome, Luke Fickell said the previous Wisconsin Badgers offense made it difficult to "outperform average quarterback play."
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell watches as quarterback Mabrey Mettauer throws a pass during practice just outside Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday April 7, 2024.
Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell watches as quarterback Mabrey Mettauer throws a pass during practice just outside Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday April 7, 2024. | Mark Stewart / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers don't always get high level quarterback play, especially the last two seasons when their starters missed significant time with injuries.

Part of the motivation behind a switch to new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes is to be better prepared for the more difficult times under center.

Luke Fickell explained the logic during an interview this week on The Jim Rome Show, where he noted the differences compared to the Air-Raid offense they ran under Phil Longo.

"I think the Air-Raid systems or some of those spread systems that are all predicated on the quarterback, I would tell you that it’s really, really difficult in those systems to outperform average quarterback play. I want to be in a system that we would call more of an NFL system, where obviously the quarterback is still the most important thing in what you do, especially offensively. But, they do understand that there’s more to it than just the quarterback."
Luke Fickell on The Jim Rome Show

He compared it to what he sees in the NFL, where teams can still when a game when their quarterback struggles by relying on the running game and defense to take the pressure off of the QB.

Air-Raid offenses like Longo's put the quarterback in complete control, but that can cause problems when it's a second- or third-string player in there due to injuries.

Fickell said he is also more confident in the depth in his QB room now, which he described as "very thin for us" in recent years.

That combination of new quarterbacks and a new system is giving Wisconsin confidence in Billy Edwards Jr. and the offense taking a step forward in 2025.

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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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