Wisconsin Badgers QB Nick Evers Still Adapting to Phil Longo’s Offense

A look at why Oklahoma transfer Nick Evers hasn’t made the push for Wisconsin’s QB2 job as quickly as some had hoped.

(📸: UW Athletics)

When the Wisconsin Badgers landed former Oklahoma quarterback Nick Evers in the transfer portal, fans across the state were in utter disbelief.

To help put his talent in perspective, Evers would have been UW’s second highest-rated QB recruit in school history, according to the 247Sports database.

Then, UW added two other signal callers in the portal, SMU’s Tanner Mordecai, who will be the unquestioned starter in 2023, and Mississippi State’s Braedyn Locke, brought in to compete with Evers for the starting gig the following season and beyond.

Through the first half of spring practice, Locke’s earned nearly all of the second-team reps, with Evers splitting time with walk-on Marshall Howe and Myles Burkett on the third team.

The reason? Knowledge of the playbook.

“What he’s working on right now, and we just met one-on-one yesterday, is getting to a point where he understands what’s going on out there in the passing game from a protection standpoint,” Longo told UW reporters. “In the run game, when do we change some things or make a check or throw an RPO…those types of things he’s still on the learning curve with, and that’s why he’s had fewer reps.”

Nick Evers is Making Incremental Progress 

Nick Evers, who was initially off to a slow start for the Wisconsin Badgers, has reportedly made noticeable improvements throughout spring practice. In speaking to someone close to him, I learned that he continues to remain patient and put in the necessary work off the field to earn more reps and better position himself to compete come fall camp.