One of the biggest decisions Luke Fickell had to make this offseason was no question figuring out who the next offensive coordinator was going to be for Wisconsin football. Luckily, his search didn't take too long, as former Kansas OC Jeff Grimes has been hired to the same position in Madison.
Grimes has about 30 years of coaching experience and while Kansas went 5-7 this past campaign, it doesn't take away from the fact that he's a proven, smart coach. So, what was it about Grimes that made Fickell want to trust him to lead the UW offense moving forward? It's his ability to work with quarterbacks and get the best out of them:
#Badgers coach Luke Fickell on @HellerSports re: why he hired OC Jeff Grimes:
— Colten Bartholomew (@CBartWSJ) December 19, 2024
"What I love is his ability to adapt to having a first-round draft pick quarterback, to maybe not having the quarterback position, to having a guy that's ... more of an even an athlete."
Luke Fickell is ready to see what Jeff Grimes can do for Wisconsin
Grimes is going to have his work cut out for him next season, as it's up in the air who will be the team's starting quarterback in 2025. Tyler Van Dyke and Braedyn Locke are in the transfer portal and won't be back in Madison next campaign.
However, Fickell has signed two new signal-callers recently, with Billy Edwards Jr. (Maryland) and fellow QB Danny O'Neil (San Diego State) ready to battle it out for the No. 1 job. From our chair, we'd think that Edwards will end up winning the race, while O'Neil will need to wait a little time before getting his shot.
Despite things being a bit unknown at the position moving forward, Grimes is going to have those two options to decide from. Elsewhere, the fact that Will Pauling and CJ Williams have decided to transfer stings, but Grimes is going to have Jayden Ballard and Will Hamper on the way to campus via the portal. On top of that, standouts Vinny Anthony and Trech Kekahuna will be back.
Soon enough, spring ball will get here and Grimes will be able to give us a sneak peak at what he has in mind for his side of the ball moving forward. The hope is there will be an offensive identity showcased, something we haven't seen quite yet with Fickell in charge of the program.