MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is entering the transfer portal, a source briefed on the situation confirmed to The Athletic. Van Dyke, who was the team’s starter before sustaining a season-ending ACL tear in his right knee Sept. 14 against Alabama, has one year of eligibility remaining.
The decision doesn’t come as a surprise given the bind both Wisconsin and Van Dyke found themselves in, but it is notable because it means the Badgers will enter the 2025 campaign with a fourth different starting quarterback in as many seasons. Wisconsin needed certainty entering Year 3 under head coach Luke Fickell — 13-13 overall and 8-10 in Big Ten play — and Van Dyke’s injury situation muddled what the future would look like. He would not have been able to participate in spring practices, and there was no guarantee he would be fully ready for the start of preseason practices or the season.
Fickell said last Wednesday during a signing day news conference that he planned to talk to Van Dyke later that day. He said Van Dyke previously told him he wanted to continue to play college football.
“It is a tough situation for him and for all of us because there’s just so many unknowns with how his injury is, how long of a recovery his injury is,” Fickell said. “But I do think that not knowing exactly where we are right now makes it pretty vague.
“I love Tyler. Tyler’s done nothing but be dedicated to what we’ve asked him to do. He’s been at every game. He’s been at every practice. And that does mean something. We’re going to have to figure out where the progress is and what the prognosis looks like for him because it is a position and a situation where we can’t end up where we are this year.”
Van Dyke did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment about his transfer decision.
Van Dyke was a three-year starter at Miami and won ACC Rookie of the Year honors as a redshirt freshman in 2021. He battled injuries each of the next two seasons under a pair of different offensive coordinators and didn’t replicate his initial success. Van Dyke suffered a third-degree AC joint sprain in his right shoulder during the 2022 season and missed three games. In 2023, he sustained a Morel-Lavallee lesion in his right knee that hindered him for the rest of that season.
Experience, coupled with excellent arm strength and decent mobility, allowed Van Dyke to win Wisconsin’s the starting job during preseason practices over Braedyn Locke. Van Dyke ran for a touchdown and completed 43 of 68 passes (63.2 percent) for 422 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions before his injury.
The future at quarterback for Wisconsin is up in the air. Fickell said he wanted to have five scholarship quarterbacks, and Van Dyke’s departure opens the door for the Badgers to pursue a transfer portal quarterback for a third consecutive offseason. That’s not what Fickell initially said he wanted out of the position because he hoped to develop from within. But Wisconsin needs veteran help.
Wisconsin currently has four scholarship quarterbacks for spring practices: redshirt junior Braedyn Locke, redshirt freshman Mabrey Mettauer and incoming freshmen early enrollees Carter Smith and Landyn Locke, Braedyn’s younger brother. Braedyn Locke is the only one with any significant experience, having started 12 career games over the past two seasons for Wisconsin after replacing an injured starter. But Locke struggled significantly at critical junctures this season, and it became clear Wisconsin required better play at the position. Locke completed 55.4 percent of his passes for 1,936 yards with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He is 4-8 as a starter at Wisconsin.
Mettauer appeared in three games as Locke’s backup and played 16 snaps. Landyn Locke is coming off a season-ending ACL injury during his senior year of high school. Smith is a four-star, top-15 quarterback who could represent the future. However, a true freshman has not started at quarterback for the Badgers since 1991.
The Locke brothers, as well as Mettauer, committed to Wisconsin to play in an air raid system for offensive coordinator Phil Longo, who was fired Nov. 17. Wisconsin will have a new offensive coordinator next season in Jeff Grimes from Kansas with a structure that Fickell hopes better blends a physical run game with the pass.
Wisconsin finished the season 5-7 with five consecutive losses and failed to qualify for a bowl game for the first time in 23 years. And while there are plenty of issues to fix, quarterback remains one of the top priorities.
Required reading
- 21 names to know in college football’s transfer portal as winter window officially opens
- Wisconsin and the transfer portal: Breaking down positions of need
(Photo: Jeff Hanisch / Imagn Images)
