MADISON, Wis. — The news on Tyler Van Dyke is as bad as expected.
The Wisconsin quarterback will miss the remainder of the season due to a right knee injury he suffered during the first quarter of the team’s 42-10 home loss to Alabama on Saturday. The severity of the injury was first reported by the Wisconsin State Journal and confirmed by ESPN, which added that Van Dyke suffered a full tear of his ACL.
The loss of Van Dyke means that redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke assumes the role of starting quarterback and true freshman Mabrey Mettauer becomes the top backup.
Wisconsin has a bye week this Saturday then travels to play Southern California on Sept. 28 to begin Big Ten conference play.
This marks the second consecutive season in which Wisconsin will be without its top quarterback for a significant amount of time. Last year, Tanner Mordecai broke his right hand during the first half against Iowa and missed the remainder of that game plus the next three.
Locke replaced Mordecai as the starter and in three full games led the Badgers to a comeback win over Illinois and losses to Ohio State and Indiana. He completed 60 of 121 passes (.496) for 648 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions in those contests.
For the season he hit 76 of 152 passes (.500) for 777 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.
On Saturday, Locke played all but the first seven snaps for Wisconsin. He completed 13 of 26 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown. The Badgers attack gained 268 total yards and averaged 4.1 yards per play with him running the show.
He led Wisconsin on a 17-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the team’s first possession of the third quarter. Also, on the team’s final full possession of the first half, he guided the unit on a 10-play 57-yard drive that ended with a 44-yard missed field goal by junior Nathanial Vakos.
“We’ve got the utmost confidence in Braedyn,” Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said after the game Saturday. “It had been a battle all through fall camp and even in spring football. And Braedyn can execute this offense and do some things even different than Tyler can. But it wasn’t going to be enough today.”
Thanks to a bye in the Badgers’ schedule, Locke’s first game as the starter this season will be at No 12 USC Sept. 28. The time off will also give the team time to recover from its most lopsided loss since falling to No. 3 Ohio State, 52-21, in 2022.
Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo have praised Locke for his understanding of the offense. Van Dyke, who had to learn three offenses during three seasons as the starter at Miami, had a quick grasp of the UW offense, but also had the advantage over Locke in arm strength and mobility.
Now the Badgers will have to adjust to a signal caller with a different set of strengths.
What can’t be replaced is Van Dyke’s experience. He has 30 starts in college and has played in 34 games overall.
“You never hope for an injury. That’s obvious,’ Locke said. ‘He’s been a tremendous guy for our team, just a leader and a great player. He does things the right way and I have a lot of respect for him. We have a good relationship so no part of you ever hopes for that, but the second your number is called you’ve got to be ready to go.”