Badger football had its fair share of struggles at quarterback in 2024. Starter Tyler Van Dyke went down with injury after just two games, and backup Braedyn Locke never fully quite put things together. Now in 2025, transfer quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. will get the keys, but he comes with his own questions as well.
Last season at Maryland was Edwards Jr’s first year as a full-time starter, and while overall he had success, his 10 games were wildly inconsistent. In his first five games of the year, Edwards Jr. was dominant and had some of the best numbers in the Big Ten. His final five games of the season were borderline disastrous, leaving many Badger fans wondering which quarterback will show up in Madison.
Which Billy Edwards Jr. will Wisconsin get?
Completion %
TD/INT
Yards
First 5 games
72.3%
11/2
1444
Last 5 games
59.6%
4/7
1411
The new Badger quarterback finished the year with some solid numbers as a whole, but it’s hard to ignore the poor play down the stretch. Yes, Maryland’s offensive line and much of the team in general was a disaster last year, which contributes to the sub-par second half of the season, but the stark contrast is a bit unsettling.
Considering several of the games early on were against inferior opponents like Connecticut or Villanova, it makes sense Edwards Jr. was able to put up some good numbers. But down the line against Big Ten talent, things went south. So should we be concerned?
Ultimately, the answer is probably no. Edwards Jr. is a very smart player with elite leadership skills and dual-threat ability. He’s a great fit with new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’ system, and will have all the opportunity in the world to flourish. He had a bad second-half to 2024, but it doesn’t really raise too many red flags taking into account the poor play around him.
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