Wisconsin QB battle: Luke Fickell updates plan amid multiple injuries

For just about the entire season, the Wisconsin Badgers have been dealing with injuries to the quarterback position. That’s still an issue that head coach Luke Fickell is working hard to address.

Backup quarterback Danny O’Neil returned for last week’s Washington game, only to get knocked out of it. He would initially be replaced by freshman Carter Smith. This comes with initial starting quarterback Billy Edwards out and Hunter Simmons having also seen action for the Badgers. Amid all of that, Luke Fickell needs to have a break glass in case of emergency plan.

“There’s always a plan,” Luke Fickell said. “I’m not exactly sure just yet, it’s only Monday, at what that plan is. We’ve still got to figure out exactly who’s one and two before we start to think about who’s the fourth going into a game like this. So, there’s a lot of things.”

Edwards was initially injured in the Week 1 opener for Wisconsin. He has tried to make comeback attempts, but health issues have become a major issue. Danny O’Neil was his initial replacement, but now he’s had multiple injury issues as well, though after being carted off, a return seems unlikely. Hunter Simmons has largely been the third option for Fickell, though Carter Smith has seen some action now too. So, it would appear Simmons and Smith are battling to start.

In all of that, Wisconsin has the 130th-ranked passing offense nationally, averaging 140.6 passing yards per game. Within the Big Ten, only Iowa is worse.

“Obviously, the quarterback position everyone wants to talk about,” Fickell said. “But there’s other positions that have some similar things that you want to think about. So, sometimes that position is a little bit easier. You can snap it to anybody. We’ve got some tailbacks back there. We’re hoping we don’t have to get to that, but let’s hope we don’t have to get down to that type of plan.”

Wisconsin earned an upset win over Washington despite those quarterback issues on Saturday. In that game, the Badgers had just 48 passing yards and averaged 3.2 yards per play. In all of that, their leading passer was Sean West, a punter who threw for 24 yards on a fake.

Those quarterback issues have become the highlight of Wisconsin’s issues this season. Those issues have put Luke Fickell firmly on the hot seat at times. However, it was recently announced he’d be returning in 2026. Ahead of that, Wisconsin would love to hit the offseason with forward momentum. That continues next week with a road trip to Indiana.