The Wisconsin Badgers came into the offseason with a defined starter at quarterback, landing Maryland Terrapins transfer Billy Edwards to lead Jeff Grimes’s offense.
That was different than the 2024 offseason, when Wisconsin landed Miami transfer Tyler Van Dyke and had him compete with redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke all the way through the second half of fall camp before anointing him the starter.
But, Wisconsin’s backup quarterback situation is the opposite of last year’s as well, as the Badgers
are still working through who their No. 2 signal-caller will be with the season coming just 10 days away.
Speaking to reporters at the Badgers’ final open fall practice on Saturday, head coach Luke Fickell said that the team had yet to come to a decision on whether sophomore transfer Danny O’Neil or senior transfer Hunter Simmons would be the No. 2 in 2025.
“I don’t know [who the backup quarterback will be],” Fickell said. “We keep asking, keep sitting down every day, and those guys have done a really good job at battling. This will be interesting to go really try to break down and see if anybody has separated themselves. They got an opportunity a little bit different when Billy was out for a few days to run with the ones, and I think that’s a great indication, sometimes, of your leadership and how much you can step up in those situations.
“This is going to be a decision that’s going to probably go down through next week to figure out where we really feel like is going to give us the best opportunity. Who’s going to take those number two snaps, and whoever’s that third guy is going to have to be really mature about what he’s doing and continue to prepare and probably not get a whole lot of snaps.”
During the season, the top two quarterbacks take up a majority, if not the entirety, of the practice snaps, so choosing the No. 2 option will be a significant decision for the Badgers’ coaching staff.
O’Neil came in as a younger quarterback with a strong personality and uncanny experience for a sophomore, given how he started as a true freshman at San Diego State. But, experience is important, and Simmons has both played and soaked up knowledge as a senior, coming in from Southern Illinois in the spring transfer portal.
Nonetheless, a decision will be needed soon, although the Badgers hope they won’t have to rely on a backup quarterback as they’ve had to the past two years.
