Walk-On Quarterback Shining For Wisconsin in Spring Practice
With a new coaching staff leading the Badgers, walk-on QB Marshall Howe is capitalizing on his reps during spring ball.
Madison, Wis. -- Spring practice is a time for players to showcase their skills and make a case for playing time, especially when you have a new coaching staff going through the evaluation period. That opportunity has led to an impressive showing for one walk-on quarterback in the Wisconsin football program thus far.
Despite being relatively unknown and undervalued, walk-on QB Marshall Howe, a holdover from the previous staff, has surprised coaches with his accurate throws and in-depth knowledge of the team's playbook.
"There have been three guys that have shown something," Phil Longo told UW reporters. "That would be Tanner [Mordecai], Braedyn [Locke], and Marshall Howe." During that media availability, Longo would later confirm those were his top three on the depth chart if the season began today.
Who is Marshall Howe?
Marshall Howe chose to join the Wisconsin football program as a preferred walk-on in the 2022 recruiting cycle after a year of prep school over scholarship offers from Davison and Eastern Illinois. He also received interest from nearly every Ivy League school.
The 6-foot-1, 194-pound signal caller had a solid (second) senior season at Avon Old Farms, where he completed 169-of-253 passes (66.8%) for 2,730 yards, 34 touchdowns, and only five interceptions.
You can watch his HUDL film here.
A consensus two-star prospect, Howe was ranked as the No. 228 QB in the 2022 recruiting cycle and the No. 15 player in Connecticut, according to 247Sports.
How did Marshall Howe earn the right to see the field?
Given that the Wisconsin football program gave their quarterback room a complete facelift this offseason, adding Tanner Mordecai and former four-star talents Braedyn Locke and Nick Evers, it's even more impressive that Marshall Howe has found a way to earn reps as the third-team signal-caller.
But why is he playing ahead of Evers, a player with significantly more athletic tools and arm strength? To Phil Longo, the answer is simple.