Luke Fickell may have finally found the elite quarterback he's been looking for since he arrived in Madison. The Badgers have been plagued with both injuries and poor play at the signal-caller position since he was hired. Now, Fickell is bringing in dynamic QB Colton Joseph, who exploded at Old Dominion last season. Joseph was electric and immediately became one of the top quarterbacks in the transfer portal. Wisconsin was able to bring him to Madison.
Now, a new stat has emerged that shows just how elite he is at rushing the football. Cody Nagel shared the top-10 explosive rushing quarterback leaders heading into 2026, and Joseph is No. 3. He's got a whopping 19.3% explosive rushing percentage. The only two players ahead of him are Byrd Ficklin (real name) from Utah and Kalieb Osborne from UCONN.
19.3% is an insanely high number for a quarterback, truly for any position, as it means nearly a quarter of the time he takes off, Joseph is hitting 10+ yards. That rate may not stay as high in the Big Ten as it did at Old Dominion, but he clearly can see openings and take them.
Top 🔟 explosive rushing QB leaders entering 2026 ⬇️🏈 pic.twitter.com/rjKSy1OT83
— Cody Nagel (@CodyNagel247) July 22, 2026
Colton Joseph is one of the most explosive quarterbacks in the nation
Related: CBS Sports unanimously puts Luke Fickell on college football's hottest seat
Wisconsin is clearly working on bringing some explosiveness to the offense. Joseph ranks as one of the most explosive quarterbacks in all of college football. He had 2624 yards passing and 1006 yards rushing last season with 21 touchdowns through the air and 13 on the ground. He was averaging 6.4 yards on the ground and 9.0 through the air.
PFF is the one that came up with explosive definitions. It's 10+ yards on the ground and 20+ yards through the air to be considered explosive. Last season, Colton Joseph had 20 explosive runs, with one going for as long as 78 yards! He also had 22 explosive passes for a grand total of 42 explosive plays.
That's a very explosive individual...Wisconsin as an entire team had 46 explosive plays last season. This may not be all that surprising, having watched the Badger offense last season, and if it wasn't for Danny O'Neil, it may have been way worse (in the explosive play department). And yet, he had his big problems and injuries too.
Yet, part of Jeff Grimes' offensive system is built around explosive plays. He likes to grind out an offense and sprinkle it with explosive moments. Without a good quarterback, those moments are hard to come by. Having Joseph is perfect for what Grimes is trying to play-call for the Badgers. He wants the grinding, big-boy-in-the-trenches offense that Wisconsin fans love, but with a flip of the switch, the surprise 25-yard play thrown in.
Joseph brings that to the Badgers, and he's one of the best in the nation at it. This season could be dramatically different than any other Fickell era, and Joseph rightfully will get a lot of credit for it. He's explosive, and Grimes will make sure it's featured in the offense.
Add us as a preferred source on Google