Braedyn Locke Auditioning to Become QB of the Future for Wisconsin Football

For the second year in a row under Luke Fickell, the Wisconsin Badgers football program finds itself navigating a midseason quarterback shakeup.

An injury — this time to Tyler Van Dyke — has once again thrust Braedyn Locke into the starting role, forcing the Badgers to make adjustments.

The path forward now runs through Locke for the foreseeable future, shifting the entire outlook for Wisconsin’s season. Locke has been forced into tough spots before, just as he was when stepping in for an injured Tanner Mordecai last season. That said, the Texas native is only a redshirt sophomore with just three career starts under his belt, with the only other meaningful action coming via spot duty against Iowa and Alabama.

Against Alabama, Locke completed 13 of 26 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown—passable yet uninspiring numbers given the situation, but far from enough to make anyone forget about the loss of Van Dyke. Either way, the Badgers have no choice but to play the hand they've been dealt.

“Bye weeks are what they are. It's an opportunity for a of couple things: to kind of self-scout yourself a little bit, get back to the basics of some of the things that you got to do moving forward and recognizing what you got to be able to do," Fickell said . "For us, it was another opportunity for Braedyn Locke to get a lot more reps now that we're in the situation where Tyler is done for the year. So, in some ways, it came at a good point for that."

To this point, Locke's performance has been up and down, but he showed flashes, like sparking a late comeback on the road against Illinois in 2023. While at Wisconsin, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound QB has completed 50% of his 178 pass attempts for 902 yards with six touchdowns and one interception. However, the 5.1 yards per attempt leaves a lot to be desired.

Locke’s strength lies in his intellect and profound understanding of the offense, but he’s not Van Dyke in terms of arm strength or mobility. That inevitably changes how Phil Longo’s offense will function moving forward.

The real question is whether Longo, who has yet to deliver results at Wisconsin, can design a game plan that plays to Locke's strengths. This stretch of games is Locke’s chance to step up and prove he can lead this team the rest of the way and perhaps even into the future, but the margin for error is slim. It's also fair to question if Locke has what it takes to be more than a game manager with physical limitations at this level.

Locke has faced reoccurring challenges with pocket awareness and getting balls batted at the line. Moreover, according to Pro Football Focus, he's only managed to complete 20 of his 52 attempts (38%) on passes thrown over 10 yards downfield.

I'm skeptical that Locke will prove to be the long-term answer for the Wisconsin Badgers at QB, but he's the best option they have right now. I also get that fans are curious about freshman Mabrey Mettauer, and maybe he’s made some real strides since fall camp. But let’s be real: those third-team reps in practice have probably been few and far between up until the bye week, and the coaching staff isn't in a spot to rush him into a situation he's not ready for. Mettauer still has plenty of upside in the long term, but he needs more time to develop, as most freshmen do.

"He’s going to have to be ready,” Fickell said of Mettauer. “Unfortunately, we could have to have a true freshman that’s got to be ready to roll... He’s one play away. And he’s a lot closer today than he was in the past. He’s going to have to grow up fast.”

Locke begins his season-long job interview on Saturday in Los Angeles against the No. 13 USC Trojans in a game that the Badgers enter as heavy underdogs . Will Locke prove himself and elevate Wisconsin's sputtering offense? Time will tell, but this is his shot to be the QB1 for this program.

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