Playing Small Ball

As a kid I used to love baseball. Truth be told for the first 12-13 years of my life it was my sport of choice. My passion for the sport was rooted in the chess match because as a typical unathletic kid it made the sport seem more accessible to a player like me. The focus was on the fundamentals: getting on base and moving the runner- the beauty of manufacturing runs. What made me fall of the sport was the inevitable climax of the Steroid Era. While the nation was captivated by towering home runs hit by these mammoth athletes the fundamentals of the sport changed. Suddenly, it became acceptable to strike out multiple times in a game, as long as you could pop a dinger or two. This shift in approach mirrored a broader societal shift towards a go big or go home mentality. From the baseball diamond to the couch of the average football fan this mentality has changed us to where we can no longer be patient enough to see something through to the end. If you're not swinging for the fences somehow you're failing, when in reality a team that hits for a high average can achieve the same goal. Using this baseball analogy you can see how Wisconsin built their football program, and it is how we can reshape the program into a modern program capable of competing on a national stage.

Ok that's enough baseball talk let's get back to football. The transfer portal. Quarterbacks. Development. Hot button topics the last few days, and it really shows where the average fan base is at.

A vocal group of Badger fans are not excited by the addition of Tyler Van Dyke via the transfer portal. They look at his stat line from 2700 yards 19 TDs and 12 INTs are are predictably underwhelmed. They view adding another QB from the transfer portal as a sign the staff is against developing their own players while there are still two young, talented QBs on the roster with a lot of upside. And they feel that if we needed a QB in the transfer market that perhaps the coaching staff settled instead of trying to get an impact player. To those who see Luke Fickell and Phil Longo as second comings of Don Morton there is not much I can say to change your mind. But what I can do for those who are open minded enough to keep reading is to lay down for you why it is never bad to add talent to your roster, and why TVD is the QB we need in 2024.

A rising tide raises all ships, is that how the cliche goes? A lot of people think that in the day and age of NIL that schools are spending big bucks to bring in these transfer QBs with the expectation of starting day one with a ride or die approach. That very much could be the case with Van Dyke and Wisconsin, although if you listen to people within the NIL department you would know that their approach does not include discussions of money until a player is enrolled and on campus. Regardless though of what was promised to Van Dyke he needs to come in and win the job both on and off the field. By bringing in an accomplished three year starter you are putting the other three returning QBs on the roster behind the eight ball and making it much more difficult for them to earn playing time, but imagine if they do. What if bringing in another QB ahead of Nick Evers ignites a fire under him to rise from being the fourth string QB and he shows the potential we all thought he had coming in? Maybe Braedyn Locke still wants to be on campus in two years when his brother is an incoming freshman so he dedicates himself harder to the strength and conditioning program to add athleticism to his game? Competition breeds development, creates depth, and builds the foundation of the QB room for years to come.

One of the failings of the previous staff is another reason why we were in the quarterback market this off season in the first place. Even if Graham Mertz or Deacon Hill never transferred we would have entered the 2024 season with the most veteran QBs on the roster being redshirt sophomores. In times of transition you need a veteran presence in the room and without going to the portal the most experienced QBs on the roster have been on campus for less than a year. And sure Van Dyke will be on campus for less than a year as well but he brings three years of starting experience from a Power 5 program to a room that needs mentorship and leadership. The job that Tanner Mordecai started is not finished and the room will benefit from TVD's presence.

Football is a physically demanding sport, and injuries are a common occurrence. We saw that this season when Tanner Mordecai went down. In stepped Braedyn Locke who showed flashes, but ultimately it was clear who the best QB in the program was. Without adding another QB one could assume that Locke would have the upper hand in winning the 2024 starting job because of how easy it seemed he secured the backup job last year. But what if he got hurt? Who would replace him? Nick Evers? The hype train behind Evers is strong and the vocal group of fans calling for him to accend to the starting job is a loud one. But we need to remember that Evers for all the arm talent he has ended the season as the fourth string QB. Let us also not forget that if it wasn't for Marshall Howe transferring after spring practice that he would have been the 5th string QB. This leads us to another key reason on why a transfer QB was needed and that is the unknown factor of what happens when your starter goes down? What can we expect from a QB who we don't know the real reason why his physical abilities couldn't carry him higher on the depth chart. Are you willing to bank you career on an unknown factor like that?

Finally we have to look past the immediate effects of TVD's transfer and look at how it sets up the QB room going forward. Now that we have an established upper classmen in the room for 2024 it sets up the progression going forward. In 2025 we will have presumably two RS Juniors, a RS Sophomore, a RS Freshman, and a true Freshman. That is a balanced room, and a talented room at that. Going into 2026 I'm sure we'll add another QB coming in and the cycle will continue with players having time to develop within the system and for the room to be self sustaining. That is the strategic benefit of the short term gain of adding a potential starter for 2024 because it allows to room to reset itself and find balance.

Like with any move that any staff makes the adding of another transfer QB is not a guaranteed indicator of success. 2023 was a good example of that. But when you look at the broader implications of the move and try to look at it reasonably there is a reasonable path for both short term and long term success. Adding Tyler Van Dyke to the roster is like making solid contact and hitting double. It might not be flashy, but it puts a runner in scoring position where a single will bring him home. Let's manufacture some runs and build a program.