Speaking with media at Badger training camp, offensive coordinator Phil Longo emphasized that the quarterback battle that has raged on since this spring is far from over.
“It’s a competition,” Longo said. “Is there anything other than a close competition? These guys are battling right now and I think the advantage Braedyn has is he has a year under his belt and huge working knowledge and he is twice the player that he was last year."
That's some strong praise for a guy everyone has had penciled in as the backup since January. Tyler Van Dyke transferred from Miami looking for a fresh start, but I don't think he expected the path to the starting job to be this arduous. But despite the coaching staff's comments, is the battle really that close, or is this their way of keeping their options open just in case they need to break some quarterback glass in case of emergency?
The answer is probably a little of both. I do believe Locke has impressed and is much improved from last year. But is he going to beat out seasoned veteran and once Heisman hopeful Van Dyke? The odds seem low. But injuries happen and players underperform, so it's not the worst idea to have a guy who has taken first team reps ready to go on the bench.
In the end when the starter is announced, it will be a strange feeling for fans. Either way, they can take comfort in knowing the best man won and nothing was handed out. On one hand though, if Van Dyke loses it will quite be a shock to the system. Winning solves everything, though, and if Locke starts stacking W's, fans won't be reeling from a disappointing transfer.
It's most likely Van Dyke's job to lose, and he would have to have a disastrous camp for Locke to win out. It could happen, but I'm more inclined to believe that Luke Fickell and Longo are just keeping every option available to them by not naming a starter yet.