Wisconsin Coaches Pour Praise On New Starting QB Tanner Mordecai

The Wisconsin coach staff has incredibly high expectations for QB Tanner Mordecai.

Luke Fickell is now the main in charge in Madison, and one of his immediate priorities was overhauling an offense that had grown stagnant, boring and underwhelming.

He wasted no time before getting it done. Fickell hired Phil Longo to run the offense, and brought in three transfer QBs. None were more important than Mordecai, who spent the previous two seasons lighting it up at SMU.

Now, the former SMU star will open the season as QB1 for the Badgers and Fickell and Longo love what they see in the veteran passer.

Tanner Mordecai is Wisconsin's new starting QB. (Credit: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA Today Sports Network)

Tanner Mordecai faces huge expectations in Madison.

Fans are already painting Mordecai and the new coaching staff as the saviors of the program before a single regular season game has been played.

There hasn't been this much hype around the program since 2011 when Russell Wilson spent his single season in Madison.

Will Tanner Mordecai live up to expectations for the Wisconsin Badgers? (Credit: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA Today Sports Network)

It certainly sounds like Mordecai is up to the task. OC Longo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the following about Mordecai:

Tanner has a strong enough arm to make every throw on the field He can snap off all the quick ones. We call them automatics. We expect there to be a 100% completion with regard to our accuracy on the quick game – the slants, the hitches, all that stuff. And he is pretty automatic with that stuff. The intermediate stuff takes a little more focus because, obviously, and you’re going to do that under more duress because we’re holding the football (longer). He is really good there and he can really fit some things into tight windows. And I think he is going to be a really, really good deep-ball guy. … He has the ability to hit the posts and the corners and the fades. He is getting better as we go. I think he is much more athletic than people give him credit for. He can run the football. … I’m excited to see him in live action. He’s got the leadership part of it. He is an athlete. And I think every day that we practice he gets better executing the offense.”

Fickell things the Badgers have their man at QB.

Longo certainly isn't the only coach who loves what the team has in the scrappy passer. Head coach Luke Fickell is also very impressed.

“He has done a phenomenal job. He has been everything I hoped for. He came in, kept his mouth shut. Went to work and proved a lot of things not just to me and the coaches but to the players. I think he has embraced the culture and the guys in that locker room. He hasn’t walked in and expected to be handed anything. He has done it in a humble way with an incredible work ethic," Fickell explained, according to the same Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report.

Luke Fickell is expected to turn around the Wisconsin Badgers right away. QB Tanner Mordecai will play a huge role. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

Wisconsin Badgers fans are ready for a fresh start with Tanner Mordecai.

Wisconsin fans have been through the ringer the past few seasons when it comes to the offense. As a Wisconsin man, it's been absolutely brutal to suffer through.

Graham Mertz was the highest-rated QB recruit in school history. His tenure was mediocre at its best and downright awful at its worst.

He left Madison with 38 passing touchdowns, 26 interceptions and a 59.5% completion rate. From 2020 through 2022 was one of the most disappointing runs in program history. So much potential and so few positive results.

Graham Mertz was a giant disappointment for the Wisconsin Badgers. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Now, Mordecai is expected to grab the reins of a re-tooled offense. Gone are the days of running the ball and rarely throwing out of play-action. The Badgers are going to be throwing it all over the field, and Tanner Mordecai will be responsible for getting it done.

Clearly, the coaches think he has the goods, and fans hope like hell that's the case. Wisconsin fans are desperate to return to regular double-digit win seasons instead of playing in pointless bowl games.

What does Tanner Mordecai think of Luke Fickell and where the program is headed? He thinks titles are on the horizon.

Tanner Mordecai is QB1 for the Wisconsin Badgers. (Credit: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA Today Sports Network)

"I firmly believe coach Fickell is going to win a national championship here," he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. For the sake of Wisconsin fans everywhere, I hope like hell that's correct.