The University of Wisconsin football team has made its first move in the transfer portal to replenish its quarterback position.
Danny O'Neil, a second-year quarterback who started at San Diego State this fall, joined the Badgers on Monday after visiting Madison over the weekend. O'Neil started 11 games for the Aztecs this fall, completing 63.3% of his passes and tallying 2,181 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. San Diego State went 3-8 in O'Neil's starts.
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The 6-foot Indianapolis native was a consensus three-star recruit coming out of Cathedral High School.
O'Neil was in an Air Raid scheme with the Aztecs but possesses the kind of arm strength that will help the Badgers challenge defenses down the field in offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes' system. Wisconsin is likely to lean more on the run with Grimes, who's proven over multiple stops that he can invigorate a rushing attack, but Grimes needs his quarterback to be accurate and aggressive enough to take shots down the field against single coverage. O'Neil threw the ball at least 20 air yards downfield on 17.2% of his drop backs last season, per PFF, and those throws accounted for seven of his touchdowns.
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Scrambling isn't a primary skill of O'Neil's, but he's plenty athletic to move in the pocket and extend plays as needed. Grimes said in an interview with team radio broadcaster Mark Tauscher that mobility and toughness are things he looks for in a quarterback.
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"I think (mobility is) huge in any football now -- there just aren't many teams that are playing with guys back there who are stuck in one place," Grimes said in the interview. "That's not the way the game is going. I've played with some guys who are more mobile or less mobile, but I think they've got to be able to get out of trouble and they've got to be able to present some form of run threat to the defense at some point. Some certainly more than others, but if you're not doing that then I think you're giving one piece of the game to the defense. So certainly we would like a guy that's got some athleticism, and that can mean a number of different things."
Wisconsin likely is continuing its portal shopping for quarterbacks even with O'Neil in tow. The Badgers lost both of their starters from this fall -- Tyler Van Dyke and Braedyn Locke -- to the portal and need to bring in some experience to a young group. Redshirt freshman Mabrey Mettauer and class of 2025 recruits Landyn Locke and Carter Smith were the only scholarship QBs on Wisconsin's roster before adding O'Neil.
O'Neil is the fifth transfer to join the Badgers this month, following tight end Tanner Koziol, outside linebacker Mason Reiger and defensive linemen Parker Petersen and Corey Walker.
Fans question coach Luke Fickell and a free falling Wisconsin football program Millions of reasons it may not happen Great analysis Gotta go backwards to go forward? Pretty good comparison He makes the big bucks to turn things around The T.E.A.M. acronym is cute if the team wins Ha, OK, I hadn't seen this one yet I'm sorry for your loss It is Black Friday, after all The opposite of the Dillon Panthers Kickoff was like the 8 a.m. class we all hated An appropriate feeling Ugly indeed Feels that way Makes one wonder where Mabrey Mettauer is at if he can't get in One more year! One more year! There's a lot to turn around, though Humiliating is a good worn since it's hard to take pride in anything this team produced Yeahhh Suboptimal start Did they team quit after loss to Oregon? Don't know that firing the AD changes anything if Fickell stays Hard to forget how good Wisconsin was At least those classes will be stronger? Definitely seem weaker than most teams The biggest "what if" of the season is how much better he makes the team Seemingly everyone thought it was a home run Ha Out of answers and defeated Disrespectful to D II teams It appears so many others were with you Think you're hitting on something about easy targets Development is key, especially when things go south Hence calls for free fall Sure performed that way It's hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel Be the first to know
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