The biggest question surrounding the Wisconsin Badgers this week is whether or not Billy Edwards Jr. will be able to play against his former team, the Maryland Terrapins, this weekend. Secondary issues about Jake Renfro's injury or how to fix the offensive line are also important. Yet, the concern is for Wisconsin's QB1. Danny O'Neil may have inadvertently provided an injury update on Edwards ahead of the first Big Ten game.
O'Neil was talking with reporters today and shared that Billy Edwards Jr. has been taking some first-team reps this week, which didn't happen last week or ahead of Middle Tennessee. While he thinks he still had "more" reps, he wasn't definite on that.
#Badgers QB Danny O'Neil said he "probably" got more reps in practice than Billy Edwards Jr. today, but Edwards is getting into the flow of things.
— Colten Bartholomew (@CBartWSJ) September 16, 2025
Billy Edwards Jr. may be trending towards playing on Saturday against Maryland
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This update is huge for Edwards' injury. He's trending in the right direction, considering he's been sidelined for two weeks and was taking zero first-team reps. He's now able to get in there and get back into the flow. If this trend continues over the rest of the week, signs are pointing towards him starting on Saturday.
However, we won't really know until we see an availability report and hear from head coach Luke Fickell on Saturday before the game. Now that we are in Big Ten play, the conference requires an injury list ahead of the game. The problem is that it may not tell us as much as we can hope. It could easily just say "questionable," which is what we already know.
Luke Fickell did address Edwards' injury in his press conference and said that he didn't know if he would be ready, but that Edwards is working to be ready. Now O'Neil seems to have confirmed that.
It being Edwards' former team, there's extra motivation for him to get on the field. Which is probably why, Fickell said, they are working "to protect Billy from himself."