The Wisconsin Badgers’ quarterback situation has been very uncertain this season. Tyler Van Dyke was the starting quarterback early in the season, but due to a season-ending ACL tear, Braedyn Locke was promoted to the starting quarterback role. With Locke now the starting quarterback, true freshman quarterback Mabrey Mettauer is the backup quarterback.
Last year, Mettauer was in Texas with The Woodlands and also became a four-star recruit. If something happened to Locke, Mettauer would be next.
Freshman point guard Mabrey Mettauer participated in action Saturday against the Purdue Boilermakers for the Wisconsin Badgers
This past weekend, the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 52-6. It was a huge shock in the match when Braedlyn Locke could be replaced by Mabrey Mettauer. He threw only one pass in the game and completed it with a 2-yard gain.
When Locke was tackled, he completed 20 of 31 passes for 359 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He spoke with Badgers offensive coordinator Phil Longo Dillon Graff from buckys5thquare.com and said:
“In terms of limited action and what we asked Mabrey to do on Saturday, he did a really good job. I went to Mabrey and said you’re on your next ride, warm up. Yep… I went up to him after Braedyn called the last drive he had and asked him, are you nervous? This is your first chance. I’ll clean it up for you; he was like, “Hell no, I’m ready to go, I’ve been waiting for this, and he was excited to get on the field.” So there’s a sense of calm and confidence because he knew what he was doing, and I think he just couldn’t wait to get out there and show everyone what he could do.”
The only way to get more action would be for Braedyn Locke to get injured, and that’s something the Badgers don’t want to continue. Due to Van Dyke’s injury, Mettauer can practice with Wisconsin’s second team instead of playing with the third forwards.
Head coach Luke Fickell talks about his progress
Head coach Luke Fickell also spoke with the caller Dillon Graff on Mettauer’s progress with the team. Fickell said:
“It’s much further along than it was in the spring. He’s a lot further along than he was at fall camp. I talked about his difficult situation [which] there were these guys fighting in front of him, so he didn’t have much opportunity to even run in twos. He probably had several photos with the two throughout fall camp. But I think even in the last four weeks I’ve seen incredible growth. Just his knowledge of the game, his ability to go to training, we try to put pressure on him [see] he can handle the pressure, the things we do in training and be successful. So he’s on a really good track.”
He is 5 feet 7 inches lofty and weighs 230 pounds. Mabrey Mettauer will have to sit down and wait patiently for his turn. The Wisconsin Badgers haven’t had much luck with quarterbacks over the past few years. Hopefully Braedyn Locke will be good for the next year or two and then Mettauer will take over and be ready to play.
