All week long, Luke Fickell has been saying the right things with a microphone in his face. Losing your starting quarterback shortly before the half in Week 1 could have been disastrous. Although Billy Edwards Jr. will be returning at some point, Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall will be all about his backup in San Diego State transfer Danny O'Neil. He helped lead Wisconsin to a win during Week 1.
O'Neil may have 11 career starts under his belt from his time at San Diego State, but the Aztecs were not the least bit good. What O'Neil may lack in size, speed, and arm strength, among many other things, he makes up for in confidence, heart and swagger. He is the type of quarterback whose teammates can easily rally behind, especially against a lesser opponent such as Middle Tennessee.
Fickell did not seem to be the least bit worried when talking about O'Neil shortly before kickoff.
What Luke Fickell had to say about Danny O'Neil ahead of his first start
Fickell was asked about O'Neil by Mark Tauscher of Badger Radio Network right before the ballgame.
"I think Danny will settle in a little bit, even better. I think that the only real issues he had I think was just some little nerves and getting the calls out. But other than that, I think he did a really good job of handling the situation. I look forward to him taking an even bigger step in his leadership and his ability to help us make some plays."
The big key here is Fickell wants O'Neil to take on more of a leadership role with this team, or at least for the time being... Again, it remains to be seen when Edwards will be healthy enough to start for the Badgers. It could be in time for the Alabama game next weekend, but O'Neil needs to grow from this game and be ready for the opportunity at hand should it present itself for him again next Saturday.
Here is the entire pregame interview conducted by Tauscher with Fickell ahead of the Week 2 game.
Building on last week’s success.@MarkTauscher65 caught up with @CoachFick on the field ahead of today’s game vs. Middle Tennessee.
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) September 6, 2025
Presented by Zimbrick Fish Hatchery Road pic.twitter.com/tLvbI2LCkd
O'Neil may have "athletic arrogance", but he needs to become a leader of young men here in a hurry.
Why Danny O'Neil might be the perfect leader that Wisconsin needs now
Edwards may be the more prototypically polished college football quarterback. He comes across as an extremely Type A person who is all about timing and preparation in order to build his confidence. Conversely, Edwards is never afraid to sling it, as illustrated from his time playing for Mike Locksley at Maryland. As for O'Neil, he seems to be more of one of the guys, a player who might be an ad-libber.
One of the reasons he started off slow before finding himself in the second half of last week's game was that he did not take hardly any of the first-team reps in practice in the lead-up to the game. Both O'Neil and Edwards transferred in to play in Jeff Grimes' offense. While it is a departure from what Wisconsin ran last season under Phil Longo, there are a lot of moving pieces at hand for the Badgers.
Furthermore, making one smart play after another to keep the sticks moving is exactly what Wisconsin needs offensively heading into the tougher games on the Badgers' schedule. In a way, O'Neil kind of embodies the us against the world type of mantra that players can rally behind. Not to say Edwards does not have this either, it just feels very authentic with O'Neil. Fickell recognizes this.
For now, let's sit back and enjoy all that O'Neil can do in his first start as a member of the Badgers.