All Badgers

Luke Fickell identifies why Wisconsin Badgers chose Colton Joseph as transfer portal quarterback

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell spoke for the first time since landing former Old Dominion quarterback Colton Joseph in the transfer portal.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell looks on in the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium.
Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell looks on in the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

In this story:

Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers clearly made Colton Joseph from Old Dominion their top quarterback target in the transfer portal.

They were aggressive in recruiting him from the start, landing his first visit of the weekend and making sure he didn't leave Madison without a formal commitment to UW.

In a video on social media, Luke Fickell confirmed that Joseph was a player they had been focused on for a while in the lead up to the portal opening, seeing him as the quarterback that had the traits they were looking for.

"Colton's been a guy that I think we had targeted and had been watching for the last probably four weeks," Fickell said. "We were in a position to say, 'Hey, when this thing opens, we've got to make sure we're able to go after and get the guy that's going to really run this thing and lead this thing.'"

Sign Up For the Wisconsin Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Wisconsin Badgers Newsletter

The head coach made it clear that the interest started first and foremost with Joseph's passing skills, in addition to the ground game.

Last year at Old Dominion, he threw for over 2,500 yards with 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

But beyond that, Fickell is entrusting him to be the face and leader of the offense from the moment he steps onto the practice field.

"He had the leadership skill," Fickell said. "When you see a guy play through a whole season, you see him in some really tough environments. You see him have to score a lot of points. You see him have to make some plays himself. That's what we were most intrigued with."

Related: New Wisconsin QB Colton Joseph wants to be Badgers version of Fernando Mendoza at Indiana

He also pointed to Joseph's work ethic as a key factor.

The new QB might not have to battle for the No. 1 job, but he'll have to work just as hard as everyone else on the team, if not harder, to be successful.

"When he walks in the door, we all know that he's the guy that we would envision as being the quarterback," Fickell said. "He also knows that no matter what, you've got to compete. And I think that's where his strong suit really is."

That, and his dynamic mobility to rush for 1,000 yards last season are what can set Joseph up to be a difference maker for the Badgersi

More Wisconsin Badgers News:

Published
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.

Home/Recruiting