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The 2024 season didn't go as planned for Wisconsin football as Luke Fickell and company finished just 5-7 in the expanded Big Ten. As a result, Wisconsin's 22-year streak of bowl eligibility came to an end as the Badgers were done playing before December.
Now, as Fickell heads into 2025 looking for massive improvements, he will need to find a new starting quarterback after Tyler Van Dyke jumped in the transfer portal on Monday, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel. Van Dyke will have one year of eligibility remaining.
Van Dyke didn't get to play much for Fickell after going down with a season-ending knee injury during Wisconsin's third game of the season against Alabama. In just over two full games, Van Dyke threw for 422 yards and one touchdown.
Van Dyke will be a coveted name in the transfer portal for what he did during his time at Miami (FL), where he threw for nearly 7,500 yards and 54 touchdowns in three seasons as the starter. At the end of the 2023 season, Van Dyke was generating buzz as a possible NFL Draft pick before opting to enter the portal and go to Wisconsin.
Wisconsin's season went downhill after the injury to Van Dyke and the loss to Alabama, as the Badgers were repeatedly outclassed in conference play with Braedyn Locke at quarterback. Despite all of the adversity that Wisconsin battled, it still had plenty of chances to keep its postseason streak alive.
Wisconsin came into November at 5-3, but four consecutive losses to Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska and Minnesota left them out of the bowl picture. The game against the Ducks sticks out as a missed opportunity after Wisconsin took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter against the top team in the nation.
As for Van Dyke, his talent and history of production at Miami will likely earn him some Power Four looks, though the injury may scare some teams off. However, if he can come back at 100% next season, he can still be a quality pickup for a quarterback-needy team.
