Russell Wilson was a tremendous pickup for the Wisconsin Badgers in the offseason this year, elevating them from being a Big Ten contender to a national contender. Wilson can run the ball a little bit, and has stayed healthy throughout his entire college career.
However, by making the move to the Big Ten from the ACC, Wilson will be playing in a much more physical conference. This means he will be more at risk of injury this year, making depth at the quarterback position crucial to the success of the Badgers.
That is where Wisconsin is struggling.
The projected starter for 2011 before Wilson decided to transfer was sophomore Jon Budmayr. He threw only 10 passes last year, but completed eight of them, including one for a touchdown. Sounds like the Badgers should be set at the quarterback position, right?
Wrong.
Budmayr is suffering from nerve damage sustained in his right elbow, and may require surgery. Without Budmayr, Wisconsin has virtually no depth at quarterback. The other two options for them to replace Budmayr as a backup are both freshmen. Joe Brennan and Joel Stave are the two who will have to fight it out for the second-string position.
Brennan seems to have a little bit of a lead in the race from reports coming out of Madison, but the final decision has not been made by coach Bret Bielema. Brennan redshirted last year when the Badgers were led by Scott Tolzien to Rose Bowl. Joel Stave is a walk-on player who has had his number of reps increased in practice since the loss of Budmayr.
Most reports are predicting that Brennan will be listed as the No. 2 quarterback, while Stave will take third-string duty. Neither of them has thrown a pass in a collegiate game yet.
The Badgers could always get lucky and dodge the injury bug all year, but it has to be a concern in the minds of fans and coaches alike. After all, Wilson is a dynamic athlete who has no history of injury during his career. He has managed to stay on the field at North Carolina State, and produced very good results while doing it.
He did throw 14 interceptions, which will not be tolerated at Wisconsin. The coaches there have produced several efficient quarterbacks and should be able to cut Wilson’s picks down to less than 10.
The Badgers are in for a successful year, and should once again hit double-digit wins. The Rose Bowl, a Big Ten Championship and maybe even a BCS Championship are all very real possibilities if this team plays to the potential we see on paper. This is all assuming, of course, that Russell Wilson stays upright and healthy all year.
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