Luke Fickell Appears To Make Wisconsin Starting QB Decision

Wisconsin's QB battle is officially over, judging from comments made by head coach Luke Fickell.

Miami transfer Tyler Van Dyke and redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke battled it out in the spring for the starting QB role.

The expectation has always been since TVD transferred that he'd be the starter, but Locke gave him everything he could handle.

Fickell hinted during a recent interview with OutKick's Dan Dakich that TVD would be the guy, and it's safe to say after Tuesday that the race is over.

It appears the QB race for the Wisconsin Badgers is over. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

All signs point to Tyler Van Dyke being QB1 for the Wisconsin Badgers.

Fickell said the following when asked about Van Dyke during his only question at his Big Ten Media Days press conference: 

"I could say a lot of great things about Tyler. I think the greatest thing is Tyler has walked in and embraced everything with our program. You know, understood where he was, what he was walking into year one. The ups and the downs. The things that we needed from him. He's got a humility behind himself when he walked in the door that he was willing and understood that he was going to have to earn everything. He understood that it was going to be a battle. There weren't going to be keys that were just handed to him, but I I think the greatest thing about Tyler is his ability to say I need to refocus. I understand what his goals were individually. He knew that there were things that he needed to continue to grow to do and he had experienced an incredible amount of adversity in his three years of starting down at Miami. And for me, if you said what's the greatest thing that you liked when you were identifying Tyler Van Dyke, I would say all the adversity he had been through. The ability for him to handle three different coordinators. The ability for him to go from the East Coast down to south Florida, win a starting position, have the ups and the downs and be able to continue to stand and have the confidence to continue to play and to play at the level of what he expects to play. So, he's done a phenomenal job and I expect him to continue to grow in his leadership rule as we enter the next 39 days."

You can watch his full comments in the video below starting around 10:00, and send me your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.

Fickell might not have come out and officially named TVD QB1 for the Badgers, but it's obvious that's the case. He didn't even mention Locke. Not a word about him when discussing the QB situation in Madison. I think it's safe to say Van Dyke locked it up.

He'd also previously indicated that the former Miami starter had improved his athleticism, which was a concern for fans.

"Since he's been here - his ability to train - he's a different looking kid from when he walked in the door. The way he ran six, seven, eight months ago to the way he runs right now is completely different," Fickell said during his interview with OutKick's Dan Dakich.

Tyler Van Dyke appears to get the starting nod for the Wisconsin Badgers. (Mark Stewart / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK)

While TVD might be a lock to start, I certainly hope Locke stays ready. He showed some flashes last season when filling in for Tanner Mordecai, and Van Dyke has been far from consistent down the stretch at Miami. Fickell is going to start him. That's just reality at this point, judging from his comments, but how much wiggle room the former Hurricanes starter gets is a totally different story. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Locke gets reps if the Badgers struggle. I almost expect it to happen. Who do you think should start for Fickell and Wisconsin? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.