With Week 1 looming against Notre Dame, Wisconsin still hasn’t settled the backup quarterback spot behind Colton Joseph - and Luke Fickell doesn’t sound eager to force the issue.
The battle has been between Louisville transfer Deuce Adams and four-star true freshman Ryan Hopkins, a competition that looked one way in the spring and has shifted in camp. Adams seemed to have the inside track coming out of spring ball, but Hopkins has pushed hard enough to make this a real call for the staff.
Fickell said the reps are still being split and made it clear the Badgers may not even bother stamping a permanent No. 2 on the depth chart.
“No, no, [we haven’t decided on a No. 2 QB].
”I think that right now those guys are all taking reps. Obviously, Colton’s taking the reps with the ones.
I think today we still continue to have both those guys rep with the twos. That’s another one of those things.
I don’t know that we’ll ever designate a whole lot of who is the No. 2.
“We’ve all seen this in the past. I think the opportunities are still going to be there for those guys to compete on a daily basis.
We want to give both those guys opportunities and be ready. The nice thing is it’s not like we’ve had in the past where truly you’re switching some versions of what guys can do based on who’s in there with the ones and with the twos and even with the third group or who’s rolling in there on the 1Bs or 2Bs.
So those guys have been able to be able to continue to do the same things. And I think that gives them the chance to grow.
And if we get to that point and we got to make some of those decisions, we’ll have to make it.”
Wisconsin will put out a depth chart on Sunday for the Notre Dame game, but it’s still unclear whether that sheet will actually settle the backup quarterback question. The most likely outcome is an “OR” designation between Hopkins and Adams.
That would fit the moment, because Hopkins has done enough to earn trust this early, even if Adams still brings the edge in experience. If Wisconsin had to make the call right now, Adams would probably be the safer answer.
The bigger picture, though, is obvious: the Badgers would prefer not to need either of them. After dealing with too many quarterback injuries in recent years, just getting through this one without a scramble is the goal.
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