The Wisconsin Badgers have been dealt quite the hand with injuries since head coach Luke Fickell arrived on campus, most notably at the quarterback position.
In 2023, the Badgers, who were 4-1 at the time, lost Tanner Mordecai to a broken hand, derailing their chances at getting the Big Ten West title. In 2024, Tyler Van Dyke went down with a torn ACL in Week 3. Then, in 2025, starter Billy Edwards played in just two games.
Advertisement
That hasn’t been the only area they’ve been hurt. Offensive line injuries were an issue last year, causing constant re-shuffling up front.
That made things difficult for offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes in his first year with the program, as the Badgers ranked 134th in scoring and 135th in yards per game last season out of 136 D-I teams.
Speaking to reporters after Wisconsin’s spring ball practice on Tuesday, Grimes acknowledged the difficulties as a playcaller dealing with injuries on offense.
“Well, I think your game plan and the evolution of your offense and the play calling, all of that is based on what you have,” Grimes said. “And certainly, there were a number of times last year where that style of offense and the play calling changed to some extent because of the quarterback we were playing with or the running backs that we had available for that game. And so, sure, it’s always impacted.
Advertisement
“Sometimes it changes a lot when you go from a quarterback who’s maybe more of a pocket guy to a guy that’s a little bit more elusive, more of a dual threat guy. And that’s really obvious. But at times, it might change if you don’t have maybe your best tight end available. Maybe he’s a big physical guy who can handle the defensive end on his own. And if I don’t have that, then we’ve got to adjust how we’re going to block certain things. And so, I mean, yes, that happens, and it should happen. That’s my job.”
“[It was] certainly, certainly frustrating. Disappointing. I mean, I want the people of Wisconsin to feel proud of their football team. I want them to resonate with who we are and how we play offense and how we win games. Since I’ve been here, I’ve been to sports, athletic events of other sports as well. And I see the love and the passion that the people have for this place and makes me want to win for them. And yeah, I felt really badly about that.
“And, the great thing about the thing that you get to do as a coach is you get to make the decision every year to move forward. And while there’s still a certain part of me and all of us who were here last year that weren’t pleased with that, you know, that we don’t even think about that anymore. Everything now is excitement about what we’re going to do this year.”
Wisconsin brought in a new quarterback from the transfer portal this offseason, landing Old Dominion transfer Colton Joseph, who seems to be a better fit for Jeff Grimes’s offense with his dual-threat ability. They also added a couple of running backs, a large group of wide receivers, a pair of tight ends, and a couple of offensive linemen from the portal with increased financial resources to jumpstart the turnaround after three disappointing seasons.
We’ll see how Grimes is able to adapt to his new personnel, with hope that the Badgers don’t deal with the same number of injuries in 2026.
