Wisconsin FB News: Longo Talks Rebuilt QB Room, In-State LB Visiting, More
Your Wisconsin football news recap includes Phil Longo discussing his offense, an upcoming in-state visitor, and more.
It's been a busy couple of days for the Wisconsin football program, ladies and gents, but fear not because BadgerNotes can help get you back up to speed with a roundup of some important news you may have missed.
Phil Longo Talks About Wisconsin's Rebuilt QB Room
Wisconsin football will run an entirely different offensive scheme in 2023, thanks to the hiring of Phil Longo.
The Badgers are transitioning from the run-heavy offense they've run dating back to the Barry Alvarez era -- and will now run a modified "air raid" system that coach Longo has successfully run at several different collegiate stops.
But the big question, at least in some people's minds when Longo got hired, was who exactly would be UW's QB1 -- because there wasn't a logical fit on the roster.
The answer quickly became apparent; the new Wisconsin football coaching staff needed to dip into the transfer portal to find someone with a skill set that supported their short and long-term vision.
"We were not at all happy with where the quarterback room was when we got here, just evaluating it," Longo said. "We wanted a QB that was talented enough to do specific things in the system, and we felt like we needed to go to the portal to get that. So, we brought in Tanner Mordecai, Braedyn Locke, and Nick Evers, three quarterbacks who probably would not have considered Wisconsin with the previous offense. That's not a knock on the previous offense -- that's just the truth. They want to be in a diverse system that can be more prolific and more explosive. This system provides that opportunity."
Mordecai is the unquestioned starter heading into 2023. Still, it will also be intriguing to see how the pecking order shakes out behind him in spring practice/fall camp because it could offer a glimpse at the potential starting QB of the future.