The Wisconsin football team is looking for a new quarterback
With another group of seniors departing last season the Wisconsin football team is looking for players to step up to fill gaps in the roster.
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One of those gaps is at possibly the most important position in all of sports – quarterback. Joel Stave has graduated, and is off trying to make the Minnesota Vikings roster.
He leaves as the winningest quarterback in Wisconsin football history, totaling 31 wins against his 10 career losses. His .756 win percentage is third-best all-time at UW, and his 41 starts are also third-best in school history.
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Stave also is the winningest Badgers quarterback in Big Ten play, as he won 22 of his 28 Big Ten starts (.786 win percentage). He’s the first quarterback in school history to go 4-0 against an opponent, leading the Badgers past Purdue, Illinois and Minnesota four times each.
He leaves UW with the second-most yards (7,635) and touchdowns (48) in school history and ranks in the top five in numerous other categories, from completions and attempts to completion percentage and interceptions.
Love him or hate him, Stave won a lot of games for the Badgers over the past four years and it won’t be easy to replace him immediately.
The Badgers, though, have two capable candidates heading into the 2016 season.
Bart Houston is the presumptive starter, although Alex Hornibrook could give him a run for his money.
Houston, a redshirt senior, has the edge in experience. He’s been around the program a long time and has actual game experience.
Hornibrook, a redshirt freshman, has more upside, but isn’t as seasoned as Houston.
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Houston gave us a sneak-peak last season when he took over for an injured Stave against Illinois, leading the Badgers to victory.
His performance was flawed, however, by two red zone interceptions to go along with his two touchdown passes. If he can clean up those “rookie mistakes,” he could be a very effective quarterback for the Badgers.
Wisconsin, though, won’t shy from getting Hornibrook out on the field early in his career, like they did with Stave.
Hornibrook, a big lefty, could be the quarterback of the future, and since Houston only has one year left, it would make sense to get Hornibrook some game experience this season.
The dual QB system hasn’t worked well for the Badgers recently (they made it work a couple of games with Stave and Tanner McEvoy, but for the most part that was a disaster), but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hornibrook out on the field in the early games even if Houston wins the job.
Should Houston win the job Hornibrook still represents the backup at the spot, so he’ll need plenty of work.
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Heading into the summer the QB job is still anyone’s to earn. While Houston is the favorite, we might see a little bit of each guy as the season opens.