It's Time for the Wisconsin Badgers' Quarterback To Emerge

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The Wisconsin Badgers’ football team had a rough go last season.  The team finished the year at 7-6, capped off by the Florida State dissection of the Cardinal in the Champs Sports Bowl.

The defense, a unit that had three front-seven players go in the third round of the 2009 NFL draft, greatly under-achieved.  They produced mediocre statistics after an abundance of preseason praise and high expectations. 

Injuries knocked Wisconsin’s premier playmaker Travis Beckum out for most of the season.  Top performers P.J. Hill and Garrett Graham were also forced to sit out a few games with injuries.  But the real reason for the Badgers’ dismal season was the poor play from the quarterback position.

Allan Everidge and Dustin Sherer didn’t come close to the effectiveness of 2007’s starter Tyler Donavan.  Both 2008 quarterbacks were indecisive, inaccurate, and at times, too conservative with their throws, and both put the ball on the ground way too often. 

Although the run game produced outstanding numbers as it does every year for Wisconsin, with the passing game lacking Badger running backs were constantly facing eight defenders in the box.

For the upcoming season, there will be a full-out quarterback competition between senior Sherer, redshirt freshman Curt Phillips, sophomore Scott Tolzien, and true freshman Jon Budmayr. 

Though Budmayr has piqued some of the coaches’ interest, the competition will come down to Sherer, the starter through the second half of last season, and Phillips, the MVP of the scout team in 2008 who has the potential to grow into a similar mold as Texas quarterback Colt McCoy.

Phillips came to Wisconsin last year labeled as a duel-threat quarterback.  Much like Donavan, he has the ability to tuck and run if he gets pressured in the pocket or if no one is open downfield. 

Sherer moves a few steps slower, which is why he didn’t scramble much last year.  Instead, he was throwing the ball away out of bounds or forcing a pass into coverage and creating turnovers.

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