Why Luke Fickell believes Colton Joseph is the right quarterback to lead Wisconsin football
Wisconsin football signed transfer quarterback Colton Joseph. Here’s why Luke Fickell believes he can help lead the Badgers' turnaround.
For a program that essentially bottomed out offensively and spent the better part of three seasons holding its breath every time the quarterback took a hit, the Wisconsin football program’s pursuit of Colton Joseph wasn’t just about chasing a big name. It was about finding the right fit and signing a transfer who could shoulder the weight of the position.
Head coach Luke Fickell made it clear that Joseph was their guy.
“Colton’s been a guy that we had targeted and been watching,” Fickell said. “We felt like he had what it is that we want to be about — the ability to throw the football — but he also had the leadership.”
That distinction absolutely matters. Wisconsin finished the 2025 season ranked 135th out of 136 FBS teams in scoring offense at 12.8 points per game, the program’s worst mark since 1990. The Badgers also ranked 135th nationally in total offense (253.1 yards per game), 132nd in passing offense (136.4 yards per game), and 116th in rushing offense (116.7 yards per game).
Injuries ravaged the depth chart, but the production collapse was real.
Under Fickell, the preferred starting quarterback entering a season has finished just 11 of 37 games, and only two of the last 24. Tanner Mordecai fought through a broken hand in 2023. Tyler Van Dyke suffered a season-ending torn ACL before Big Ten play even began in 2024. Billy Edwards Jr. sustained a Grade 3 PCL strain in his left knee during the 2025 season opener, only to reinjure it against Maryland after attempting a comeback.
The position became a weekly exercise in damage control.
Wisconsin’s staff cycled through San Diego State transfer Danny O’Neil, who battled through injuries all season before suffering an Achilles injury, Southern Illinois graduate transfer Hunter Simmons, and eventually leaned on true freshman Carter Smith down the stretch. By the end of the year, the Badgers had joined a club nobody wants to be part of, becoming the only Big Ten team to have four different quarterbacks attempt at least 10 passes in a season — something the Badgers hadn’t done since 1956.
So when the portal opened, Wisconsin wasn’t shopping for upside alone. They were looking for someone who could come in and move the needle.
“We did our homework on him and tried to get as many guys who knew him or had been around him to tell us more about him,” Fickell said. “It’s easy to press play and watch every game from last year. It’s easy to see the stats. But there was a connection as you began to talk with him and do the Zoom calls with Coach Guiton and Coach Grimes, spending long hours talking offense and seeing where his knowledge of the game is.
“The things we do know are that he fits us. He understands that his role as a quarterback isn’t just to distribute the ball. His role is to lead — not just an offense, but a program — and that’s something he embraces.”
