Wisconsin football just learned of a brutal update on the injury of quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, who is now done for the rest of the 2024 season with a torn ACL injury, according to The Athletic.
With Van Dyke sidelined for the remainder of the year, the Badgers will now be turning to his backup, sophomore Braedyn Locke, for starting quarterback duties.
Although losing Van Dyke was a painful blow for the Badgers, Wisconsin head coach Fickell has full trust in Locke.
“He knows the offense like the back of his hand,” Fickell said of Locke, who will now be taking over the QB1 role for Wisconsin football.
“He can make some adjustments and checks out there even before we could make a signal for it. So he is a student of the game. I just think that there’s some other things that are a little bit different. He made some pretty darn good pull reads and throws in some tight windows and some traffic. … We’re going to have to be smart, but we’re going to have to figure out the things that we’ve got to be able to adjust and adapt to.”
Van Dyke suffered the injury early in last Saturday’s 42-10 loss in Madison against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Locke then stepped in, and he finished the game with 125 passing yards and a touchdown with zero interceptions on 13-of-26 completions.
Braedyn Locke is ready to help Wisconsin Football
Locke isn’t a stranger to being called on to start in lieu of an injured quarterback in front of him on the depth chart. In 2023, he had a few starts in place of Tanner Mordecai.
“I obviously learned a lot last year, just dealing with that scenario already before,” Locke shared amid an opportunity to start for Wisconsin again.
“I think just the experience helps even though it was only 3 1/2 games, I think that it helps you as a player. … I’ve learned how to prepare as a starter in the last two years being here. I feel confident in my preparation and I feel confident in the locker room and I believe in the guys in there.”
Locke will get this first start of the 2024 on September 28 against the USC Trojans on the road.
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