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Wisconsin Football: Badgers Landing Zaire Seems Unlikely

By Tyler Hunt

Oct 15, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (9) is pressured by Stanford Cardinal defensive tackle Harrison Phillips (66) in the third quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Stanford won 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (9) is pressured by Stanford Cardinal defensive tackle Harrison Phillips (66) in the third quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Stanford won 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Badgers are Still in Talks, but it Appears Zaire will not be in Madison Come Fall

For much of the Spring fans of many different schools have awaited the decision by Notre Dame  Graduate Transfer Malik Zaire on where he could possibly end up. When the rumors first started to swirl, it appeared that Wisconsin’s Head Coach Paul Chryst was well in the mix to land Zaire. One could argue that the Badgers were even the favorites at certain times of the “free agency” period for Zaire. While the wait has been long, it again will be extended furthering the chances of Wisconsin Football landing the Lefty.

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Per Zaire’s Instagram it was believed that he would be making the announcement on where he would be playing next fall sometime after his graduation from Notre Dame. Now it appears that Zaire will wait until after the SEC meetings to make his decision, which means one of two things. Either he’s just completely unsure of where he wants to go, or he wants to go to Florida and he is waiting for ruling on Florida’s Graduate Transfer rules to be reevaluated at the meetings that will take place on May 31st running through June 3rd.  Florida is currently banned from taking Graduate Transfers as they did not meet academic standards in the 2015 season. However, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has said multiple times that the rule will be “reevaluated” for the upcoming season. That being said, Zaire has told the Dayton Daily News that he is “waiting for some things to finalize”.

To me, the latter seems much more likely. Its clear that the SEC will likely allow Florida to take on Graduate Transfers, putting academics first as long as it doesn’t alter football, and Zaire is waiting to hear that news so he can staple his commitment to Florida.  While fans of other contenders like Texas, Wisconsin, and Harvard are hoping the news isn’t true, but all evidence is pointing to Zaire taking his talents to Gainsville.

While Wisconsin Football made a nice run at Zaire, many feel comfortable with the QB situation in Madison. Hornibrook looked stronger in the spring and he is clearly the #1 going into the Fall. The quarterback position will not be the strongest spot on the team, but that isn’t anything new for Wisconsin Football. While Zaire would certainly make the offense much more dynamic, Hornibrook will bring familiarity and now experience to the fore front which may be better for the Badgers both short and long term.