Wisconsin football quarterback Braedyn Locke enters the transfer portal
Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Braedyn Locke announced that he'll enter the transfer portal after two seasons in the football program.
The Wisconsin Badgers have lost another member of its quarterback room.
Redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke announced on Wednesday that he is entering the NCAA transfer portal after two seasons in Madison.
“Thank you to the University of Wisconsin, the coaches, and my teammates for an unforgettable 2 years,” Locke wrote on X. “I’ll always cherish my time here. I will be entering the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility remaining.”
Locke’s departure comes just days after starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke also entered the portal. With redshirt freshman Cole LaCrue also on the move, Locke is now the third Wisconsin Badgers quarterback to announce his intention to leave the football program this offseason.
Locke, a former four-star recruit, transferred to Wisconsin from Mississippi State as part of Luke Fickell’s first transfer class after taking over as head coach, joining a quarterback room that included Tanner Mordecai and Nick Evers.
When Mordecai went down with a hand injury that required surgery in 2023, Locke stepped in, appearing in five games and making three starts. Locke completed 76-of-152 pass attempts for 777 yards, five touchdowns, and an interception.
In 2024, Locke found himself in an open competition with Van Dyke for the starting job during spring practice and into fall camp. Van Dyke would claim the starting role but suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 3, and Locke once again took the reins as the Badgers QB1.
However, struggles with consistency plagued him all season. In ten appearances, Locke threw for 1,936 yards, 13 touchdowns, and ten interceptions, completing 55.4% of his passes. Notably, the Badgers went 3-6 in Locke's starts.
The Rockwall, Texas native, who was hand-picked Phil Longo, earned a 56.1 offensive grade and a 53.6 passing grade according to PFF metrics, ranking 77th out of 79 qualifying Power 4 quarterbacks.
It’s also worth noting that Locke threw at least one interception in eight consecutive games. On a more troubling note, he was credited with 18 batted passes during his career, according to Pro Football Focus, and had the ninth most turnover-worth plays (18) in the Power 4 this past season.
With Locke’s decision to transfer out, Wisconsin’s quarterback room now features redshirt freshman Mabrey Mettauer, true freshmen Carter Smith, Braedyn's brother, Landyn Locke, and walk-on Milos Spasojevic.
Coach Fickell has expressed a desire to have five scholarship signal callers on the roster to avoid some of the depth issues that have plagued them the past two seasons. The Badgers are currently exploring options in the portal and have been linked to a handful of available players. That said, the expectation is that the Badgers new quarterback's coach will bring in a starter ready to hit the ground running in Jeff Grimes’ offensive system.
We appreciate you taking the time to read our work at BadgerNotes.com. Your support means the world to us and has helped us become a leading independent source for Wisconsin Badgers coverage.
You can also follow Site Publisher Dillon Graff at @DillonGraff on X.