MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin added a transfer portal commitment from former Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. on Monday night, solving the Badgers’ need for a veteran to step in and potentially start next season.
Edwards, who has one year of eligibility remaining, started 11 games for the Terrapins this season and completed 65 percent of his passes for 2,881 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He became the second quarterback to commit to Wisconsin on Monday, joining former San Diego State QB Danny O’Neil as part of a remade room.
Edwards threw 13 touchdowns and four interceptions during Maryland’s first seven games but struggled down the stretch as he tossed two touchdowns and five interceptions over his last four games and missed the finale against Penn State with an injury. Maryland finished the season 4-8. Edwards announced he would be entering the transfer portal on Thursday and visited Wisconsin over the weekend.
O’Neil, meanwhile, started as a true freshman for San Diego State and completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 2,181 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has three years of eligibility remaining. Wisconsin is now set to have four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster this spring for new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes: Edwards, O’Neil, redshirt freshman Mabrey Mettauer and incoming true freshman early enrollee Carter Smith. Landyn Locke, another freshman, decommitted from Wisconsin on Monday night.
The additions of Edwards and O’Neil help shore up what was the most important position the Badgers needed to address this offseason. Wisconsin lost three quarterbacks to the transfer portal with Cole LaCrue, Tyler Van Dyke and Braedyn Locke, who is Landyn’s older brother. Van Dyke opened the season as the starter before suffering a torn ACL in his right knee during the team’s third game. Locke started the final nine games with mixed results.
The departures of Van Dyke and Locke, both of which took place last week, opened the door for the Badgers to add a pair of transfer portal quarterbacks. Mettauer, the only other quarterback on the roster with any experience, played a total of 16 snaps as a reserve in three games.
Wisconsin has lost 17 scholarship players to the transfer portal this offseason but has found some key pieces since the portal opened a week ago. In addition to adding two quarterbacks, Wisconsin has received commitments from defensive linemen Parker Petersen (Tulane), Corey Walker (Western Michigan) and Charles Perkins (UT-Martin), outside linebacker Mason Reiger (Louisville) and tight end Tanner Koziol (Ball State), who was one of the top portal players at his position.
Required reading
(Photo: Ali Gradischer / Getty Images)
